James “Jim” Alderman
Florida Farmer of the Year 2025
A fourth-generation Floridian, Jim Alderman was one of eight children born into a farming family that first came to Florida in the 1820s. As a child he worked in the orange groves and helped out with his father and uncle’s cattle operation.
Jim said, “I graduated from the University of Florida in 1970 with a BS in Agriculture. I’d also joined the Florida National Guard in 1968 and was discharged in 1974 as a Staff Sargent. After a short fertilizer sales stint in Pompano, I went to work for a farmer growing 3000 acres of green beans. Then I bought five acres, sold it for a profit, bought a couple tractors, and received a USDA loan to start a strawberry and tomato U-pick in 1979 in eastern Palm Beach County.”
Some forty years later, Jim and his son Jim Jr. farm in partnership over 1200 acres in Palm and Martin Counties. They grow an impressive list of organic vegetables: vine ripe tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, grape tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, eggplant, and cabbage. They conventionally grow herbs, including cilantro and dill. They also have 214 head of cattle on roughly 2000 acres of a Mitigation Bank for Conservation Credits that maintains a Florida Panther Conservation Bank. Alderman commented, “Our efforts in this regard have proven successful, with the land now boasting an abundance of wildlife, including Florida panthers, bears, deer, turkeys, and more.”
When Jim Jr. joined the farm after college about twenty years ago, he played a pivotal role in transitioning to organic farming practices that go beyond simply avoiding pesticides. Jim Sr. said, “Our approach embodies an agricultural ethos that safeguards croplands, promotes biodiversity, and respects the delicate balance of nature. We employ biological controls, implement crop rotation and grow cover crops during fallow periods in the summer. We also prioritize the importance of beneficial insects to our ecosystem.”
He added, “When you basically start out from scratch, you have to find a way to compete. This niche was devoid of the pressure from foreign imports from Mexico and Canada and presented a unique opportunity since no one else was tapping into it. We were trying to stay ahead of industry trends.”
Alderman Farms relies on seepage irrigation that mitigates the risk of salt intrusion and does flooding for six to eight weeks during the summer and applies crab meal for biological controls. The cattle ranch operates under a conservation easement where pasture rotation and controlled burns help manage the land in a sustainable manner. Upholding stringent food safety standards has also been paramount. The Aldersons have developed a robust food safety program that’s consistently achieved exceptional audit scores, with a 98 percent rating each year.
Jim and his son handle all aspects of production, from cultivation and packaging to marketing and transportation. Jim noted, “Unlike many in the industry, we market our produce in-house, avoiding the use of external brokers. Our reputation hinges on consistently meeting and exceeding our customers’ expectations. To uphold this standard, we’ve adopted complete vertical integration, allowing us to oversee every aspect of the production process and offer diverse packaging solutions.”
In 2018, Jim and Jim Jr. took a significant step forward by relocating their packing operations to a spacious 45,000 sq. ft. facility equipped with state-of-the-art technology that allowed them to offer tailored packaging solutions for retailers, including tray packs and grab-and-go options catering to evolving consumer preferences. The challenge of finding adequate local labor to staff the facility and other farm jobs is an omnipresent one. Jim currently employs around 100 H2A workers to meet his growing/harvesting season needs. “I’ve been blessed,” he added, “to have a great group of employees who’ve been with us for twenty to thirty years.”
Decades ago an economics professor gave Jim some sage advice: “Always zig when the mob zags.” Jim noted, “We’ve consistently pursued innovation and were the pioneers in Florida to offer vine-ripened tomatoes, transported by air to northeastern markets, meeting the demand for fresh, flavorful produce. Similarly, we’ve made significant strides in the fresh herbs market, earning a reputation for superior quality among retailers and consumers.”
On the local level, Jim has served since 2002 as Vice President of Lake Worth Drainage District. On the state level, he is a member of both the Florida Farm Bureau Labor Advisory and Trade Advisory Committees.
Jim and his wife Kathleen (Kathy) have three children, Amy, James, and Megan and two grandsons in high school who are interested in continuing the family farming tradition. The Aldersons are active members of St. Thomas Moore Catholic Church and enjoy hunting, fishing, and travel. Jim said, “I’ve been fortunate to hunt and fish in far-flung places like Siberia, South Africa, Spain, Canada, Alaska, and Montana.”
Over his long agricultural career, Jim acknowledges that farming has taught him valuable lessons: “I’ve learned how to save resources in cyclical downturns, how to be open to new ideas and processes, and how to get along with people and communicate more effectively. I’m so grateful for all the help and inspiration I’ve received. And I’m still learning new things all the time.”
Jim Alderman was nominated Florida Farmer of the Year by Sam Phares, Florida Farm Bureau District 9 Field Representative, who said, “I grew up enjoying the quality of Alderman Farms produce, especially the vine ripe tomatoes. Then I learned how hard he has worked over decades to expand and make his enterprise successful. Beyond that, he’s contributed a great deal to Florida Farm Bureau by serving on advisory committees and traveling to Congress to testify before Senate committees. He has shed light on the effects of urban sprawl, rising input costs, lack of labor, and overreaching local government regulation on both small and large farms. He’s been a tremendous advocate for agriculture in the state of Florida.”
A distinguished panel of judges will visit James Alderman, along with the farms of the other six state finalists, the week of August 5–8. The judges include John McKissick, retired Ag Economist UGA; and Charles Ed Snipes, retired Weed Scientist Mississippi State University; and Kevin Morgan, retired Executive Assistant to the President Florida Farm Bureau. Judges typically serve for three years before rotating off the team.