The Mosaic Company, a fixture in the Polk County economy, has an outsized impact on communities from Florida’s Gulf Coast to the Heartland. Its phosphate mining and fertilizer production facilities are the bedrock of local economies in Polk, Hardee, Manatee and Hillsborough counties and a planned 14,000-acre mine in DeSoto County will produce
$275 million in tax and severance revenue over the life of the mine. Mining impacts on the environment from Bone Valley to the coast and the permitting and legal challenges they entail often color people’s perceptions of the company and its employees. But often unnoticed in coverage and discussions of Mosaic is the philanthropic role the company plays in our communities and around the world.

This week The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy awarded Mosaic its 2013 Excellence Award in Corporate Philanthropy for its Mosaic Villages Project, which works with farmers in Guatemala, India and eight African countries to improve crop yields. It’s an impressive program and a deserved honor that prompted us to take stock of the charitable efforts that company has undertaken locally.