FLORIDAAG WATER

NEWSVolume 2 | Issue 1Spring 2014

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTORSprings protection has been a subject of concern in Florida for many years. The 2014 Legislature considered a comprehen-sive springs-related bill, but it stalled late in the session. Though the bill did not pass, funding for springs was stronger than at any time in the past, with $30 million in the final Legislative budget. Of that, the Office of Agricultural Water Policy (OAWP) was appropriated $5 million to address agricul-tural impacts in springs areas.

The August 2013 meeting of Commissioner Putnam’s Water Policy Advisory Council was devoted entirely to a discussion of North Florida springs protection. As a result of the Council meeting, a springs workgroup formed to begin developing a strategy that builds on existing Florida law, to help protect springs and maintain the viability of agriculture. Among other things, the workgroup will identify priority actions, and explore research needs and incentive programs for best management practices (BMPs) implementation.

Troy Spring, North Florida

Assuming that the Governor approves the legislative budget, we plan to use our springs funding in combination with Florida Department of Environmental Protection and water management district resources to achieve high levels of on-farm BMP implementation, fund priority research projects, and support regional treatment strategies based on existing and new technologies. The end goal is to assure that agriculture is compatible with healthy springs.

Elsewhere around the state, the OAWP remains focused on priority projects in the St. Johns River watershed, the Lake Okeechobee watershed, and the St. Lucie River and Caloosahatchee River water-sheds. In addition to the springs funding mentioned above, the Legislature in-creased funding across all OAWP programs to focus on helping agriculture conserve and protect our vital water resources. My thanks to everyone who helped support our budget.

I hope you enjoy this issue of AG Water News. Your feedback is always welcome.

Richard Budell, DirectorOffice of Agricultural Water Policy

Florida Springs Areas

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BMPs Make Horse Sense and Big ImprovementsBetter Together...

P. 7

Water Supply and ConservationP. 5

BMP Implementation Assurance UpdateBMPs for Trees

P. 4

Going to BAT for BMPs2012 Ag Statistics ReleasedP. 6

P. 2 BMP Enrollment FiguresAcronym List

BMP Manual UpdatesRidge Citrus Update

Acronym List The following acronyms are used repeatedly in the newsletter. Rather than spell them out in multiple ar-ticles, we provide the following key:

BMAP: Basin Management Action Plan

BMP: Best Management Practice

FDACS: Florida Department of Ag-riculture and Consumer Services

FDEP: Florida Department of Envi-ronmental Protection

NRCS: Natural Resources Conser-vation Service

OAWP: Office of Agricultural Water Policy

TMDL: Total Maximum Daily Load

UF-IFAS: University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Usage Acres Enrolled # of NOIsCitrus 532,872.4 3,234Cow/Calf 2,284,541.2 975Dairies 47,811.0 26Equine 1,576.8 45Fruit Orchards 6,416.3 188Mixed Use 101,323.7 4Nursery 29,419.0 1,192Row Crops 1,024,619.2 1,269Sod Farms 34,821.3 62Specialty Farms 553.92 3Subtotal 4,063,400.9 7,004Forestry 5,305,121.3 419Total 9,315,781.2 7,423

For more information about BMP enrollment maps or to view maps by water management

district, visit our website:www.freshfromflorida.com/water/BMPs

Better Together - The TCAA Water Management Partnership

P. 8

P. 3BMP ENROLLMENTas of March 31, 2014

BMP Manual UpdatesNew Nursery BMP Manual on the Horizon

With the help of an industry-based steer-ing committee, FDACS has completed a revised nursery BMP manual and filed it for adoption. The manual should be adopted by early June. The new man-ual expands on the BMPs in the 2007 Container Nursery manual by adding sections on field-grown and cut-foliage production.

An exciting new development is the incorporation into the manual of embed-ded video links and SmartPhone QR codes to access information on the

proper implementation of particular BMPs. All of these factors combined will provide nursery owners with a smoother enrollment process and more tools to implement BMPs.

Existing container nursery operations enrolled in the 2007 manual will be “grandfathered,” as long as there are no new fields being brought into production and the three practices below, if appli-cable to the operation, are implemented within 18 months of the effective date of the rule:

• BMP 1A.2.13 Watering station practices

• BMP 2.1.1 Wetland buffers

• BMP 2.4.2 Annual inspection of wellheads

To get a copy of the new manual (after it is adopted), contact FDACS field staff in your area, or go to: www.freshfrom-florida.com/water/

Proposed Revision to Vegetable and Agronomic Crop BMP Manual

FDACS has initiated a revision of the 2005 Vegetable and Agronomic Crop

BMP manual. This is one of the early BMP manuals, and it needs an over-haul in formatting and text, as well as updates to certain practices. Staff already has visited a number of farms to get input on the revisions, and solicited help from UF-IFAS and private industry experts. FDACS also has formed a steer-ing committee to help with the construc-tion of the manual.

In the revised manual, BMPs will be grouped primarily by production system type. For example, farms using plastic mulch will follow a particular set of prac-tices that have production-specific irriga-tion and nutrient management practices. Other groupings are vegetables or field crops on bare ground, sugarcane farms, and hay and silage operations.

This is an ambitious undertaking, and will involve extensive review of research literature to ensure that the BMPs are reasonable yet protective of the environ-ment. Embedded videos will be a key component of the manual.

Once a complete draft of the manual has been constructed and approved by the steering committee, FDACS will post it to its website to get broader review.

The Spring 2013 newsletter noted the adoption of a new, statewide citrus BMP manual, which consolidated all previous citrus BMP programs. The rule adopt-ing the manual requires all growers previously enrolled in the Ridge Citrus BMP to re-enroll in the new manual by January 8, 2015, in order to retain a presumption of compliance with water quality standards. To give growers every opportunity to meet the deadline, FDACS staff have been contacting those who enrolled prior to adoption of the new manual and assisting them with re-enrollment.

The Ridge Citrus BMP re-enrollment is going according to schedule, with ap-proximately 70 to 75 percent of grow-ers signed to date. The most recent outreach meetings were held on April 16th at Warner University in Lake Wales,

and on April 22nd in Winter Garden in conjunction with UF-IFAS staff based in Tavares.

The re-enrollment process is designed to be as simple as possible for the growers, and mindful of their time constraints. There is an initial visit to review the new citrus BMP manual and collect property and contact information. Then FDACS staff meets with the grower on-site to finalize the enrollment process, which usually takes an hour or two.

Those enrolled in the citrus BMP pro-gram are eligible for cost share through the Highlands Soil and Water Conserva-tion District for certain practices. Of particular interest among growers is the cost share of soil moisture probes, which help prevent over-irrigation. Some grow-ers have reported a 30 percent reduc-tion in water use, which keeps them in

Ridge Citrus Re-Enrollment Update

compliance with water management district water use permitting criteria and, equally important to them, saves on pumping costs.

To schedule an enrollment visit or for additional BMP program or cost-share details, please contact Susie Bishop or Bo Griffin at (863) 402-7020.

Bo Griffin and Deely A. Hunt inspecting a soil moisture probe

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BMP Implementation Assurance UpdateFDACS continues to follow up with producers on BMP implementation through mail surveys and site visits. In February, the FDACS OAWP mailed its latest survey to ranch operations enrolled in the cow/calf BMP manual or with NRCS conservation plans. Almost 50 percent of those who received a survey completed and returned them. This is a high participation rate for a voluntary survey. In addition to their regular interactions with producers, OAWP staff are increasing the number of BMP Imple-mentation Assurance (IA) visits to enrolled operations, to review BMP implementation and offer assistance as needed. From January 2013 through March 2014, staff completed 288 IA visits to agricultural operations.

In June, the OAWP will be publishing a summary report on the results of the sod and cow/calf mail-out surveys and of IA site visits conducted through March 2014. The upcoming report, and reports for prior years, can be accessed at: www.freshfrom-florida.com/Divisions-Offices/Agricultural-Water-Policy/BMP-Implementation/BMP-Implementation-Assurance. For information on forestry BMP follow-up, see the related article in this newsletter.

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BMPs for TreesHigh BMP Implementation Rate among Forestry Operations

by Roy Lima, Florida Forest Service

Florida’s Silviculture BMPs identify the min-imum standards for protecting water quality and certain wildlife habitats in Florida. When properly applied, silviculture BMPs provide a balance between forest resource use and natural resource protection.

Since 1981, the Florida Forest Service (FFS) has monitored forestry operations for BMP implementation by conducting bien-nial statewide implementation surveys.

The 2013 Florida silviculture BMP imple-mentation survey showed a 98.9 percent implementation rate among forestry opera-tions evaluated. This indicates that water quality protection remains a high priority for Florida’s foresters, land managers, loggers, and silviculture contractors.

The 2013 survey evaluated 3,216 practices on 171 forestry operations (sites). This cooperative effort involved 100 public and private landowners and covered 27,819 acres in 37 Florida counties. Eighty-three sites were on private non-industrial forest-land, 71 on industrial forestland, and 17 on public forestlands. Findings include:

• Overall implementation ratings were 99.7 percent for industry lands, 98.2 per-cent for private non-industrial lands, and 98.4 percent for public ownerships.

• Nearly 90 percent of all sites surveyed this year scored a 100 percent implementa-tion rating.

• All sites surveyed scored at or above 70 percent in overall BMP implementation.

• The average for overall BMP compli-ance was 98.9 percent, a slight increase from 2011.

A total of 4,173 individual forestry opera-tions have been surveyed since 1981. The average compliance rate through 2013 is 94 percent.

FFS personnel conduct ten to twelve BMP education and demonstration workshops annually, with about 300 participants per year. In addition, the FFS provides BMP training directly to loggers through the Southeastern Wood Producers Association and Florida Forestry Association’s Master Logger Program.

The 2013 Silviculture BMP Implementation Survey Report details compliance levels in all fourteen silviculture BMP categories. For more information, contact Roy Lima at (850) 681-5942 or Roy.Lima@FreshFrom-Florida.com, or go to: www.FloridaForest-Service.com

Perennial Stream Jefferson County, FL

BMP Implementation by Survey Year

Survey Year

Com

plia

nce

%

Water Supply and Conservation

http://fawn.ifas.ufl.edu/mffw

Producers enrolled in FDACS BMPs are eligible to participate in weather station cost share. For more infor-mation, call (850) 617-1727 or email AgBMPHelp@FreshFromFlorida.com .

Future Water Supply Needs of Agri-culture Get a Closer Look

Agriculture is the state’s second larg-est industry, with an economic impact of more than $104 billion each year. Florida’s agricultural sector depends heavily on the state’s water resources, and continued growth in population, tourism, and industry is placing increas-ing demands on this finite resource. To ensure an adequate future water supply for agriculture, accurate forecasting and planning are critical.

Where projected future water demand exceeds the available supply, Florida’s five water management districts develop regional water supply plans that identify ways to meet the future water supply needs of public use, agriculture, indus-try, utilities, and the environment. In the past, FDACS has participated in the regional water supply planning process, but has not had a formal role in deter-mining agriculture’s future water supply requirements.

When estimating future agricultural water demand the districts have used different methodologies, resulting in dramatic differences in water demand estimates, even for the same crop in adjacent counties. To bring more con-sistency to water supply planning with respect to agriculture, the 2013 Leg-islature enacted a bill directing FDACS to develop data on future agricultural water supply demands. The data must include, among other things, historic and current estimates and future projections of irrigated acreage for each county by crop type. This information will be stored in a new FDACS Florida Statewide Agri-cultural Irrigation Demand geodatabase.

The water management districts must consider the FDACS data in determining the best available information for agri-cultural water supply demands. In their regional water supply plans, the districts must fully explain any changes made to the data, and present the original data along with the adjusted data.

Northwest Florida MIL staff evaluating irrigation distribution uniformity

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Going to BAT for BMPsby Dr. Kelly Morgan, UF-IFAS

UF-IFAS has established ten Basin Area Teams (BATs) of Extension agents to assist farmers and ranchers in all of Florida’s 67 counties in implementing FDACS-adopted BMPs. Each BAT takes in multiple counties and one or more basins in which FDEP basin manage-ment action plans have been adopted or are under development to meet specific water quality targets.

The FDACS OAWP has provided writ-ten materials and “mini-grant” funding for UF-IFAS Extension to expand their efforts to provide BMP-related informa-tion and education to producers. OAWP staff also present BMP implementa-tion and cost-share program informa-tion to producers at IFAS-sponsored workshops and continuing education training sessions.

The OAWP mini-grants have supported eleven BMP demonstrations in eight counties, dealing with fertilizer prac-tices, use of soil moisture sensors, irrigation wetting patterns, cattle range management, and ornamental plant production. Demonstrations were conducted on commercial agricultural fields, and ended with a field day where growers from the region observed the results.

The first-year BAT activities will cul-minate in two in-service trainings on irrigation and nutrient management practices centered on the 4R Nutrient Stewardship concepts of right source, right rate, right time, and right place. These trainings are part of an expand-ed cooperative effort among UF-IFAS, OAWP, the Florida Farm Bureau, and The Nature Conservancy to integrate the 4Rs into BMP education.

Described below are a few of the many UF-IFAS Extension BAT activities that promote agricultural BMPs and increase water quality protection.

• BAT members in the south Florida area have held grower meetings and a field demonstration on the use of

controlled-release fertilizer for sugar- cane and other producers. These efforts have helped growers in south Florida increase their use of controlled-release fertilizers in sugarcane, veg-etable, and citrus production, with the potential for less nutrient application and a reduced impact on water quality.

• BAT members in the Suwannee Basin regularly coordinate with OAWP staff, water management district staff, and Natural Resources Conservation Service staff to organize BMP-related grower workshops, field days, and demonstrations.

• The Bradford County BAT member routinely performs sap testing and supplies a fertilizer injection plan to growers for drip-irrigated vegetables and strawberries each year, based on production acreage. The recommen-dations, which are based on soil tests, save the growers money and ensure that their crops are getting adequate water and fertilizer while reducing the potential for fertilizer to run off into surface waters or leach into ground-water. This agent’s activities led to an on-farm workshop on drip fertigation for small farms, to educate other farm-ers in the area.

• In Polk County, Extension pro-grams for cattle ranchers by BAT members have lead to increased water resource protection through more effi-cient use of herbicides and fertilizers and improved waste management on approximately 16,227 acres.

• Through the use of electrical conductivity tests and pH meters, ornamental plant growers in Hillsbor-ough and Polk counties have seen how improved irrigation practices affect water quality.

For more information about UF-IFAS Basin Area Teams, visit http://bmp.ifas.ufl.edu/BMP_teams.shtml

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Ag Statistics for 2012 Released

On May 2, 2014, the U. S. Depart-ment of Agriculture released the final numbers from its 2012 Census of Agriculture. The document contains 6 million pieces of data that give an overview of agriculture throughout the nation. According to the report, across the country from 2005 to 2012:

• Total production expenses increased by an average of 43 percent per farm. Farmers had to spend 78 percent more on fertilizer, 50 percent more on chemicals, 56 percent more on seed, 40 percent more on feed, and 39 percent more on cash rent.

• The total number of farms dropped by 3 percent.

• More young people were farming. The number of young people get-ting into agriculture as a full-time job increased by 11.3 percent.

• Almost 1 million (30 percent) of all farm operators were women.

• 70 percent of all farms had inter-net access, up from 56.6 percent in 2007.

• Farms reporting use of a renew-able energy-producing system more than doubled to 57,299. Solar panels accounted for 63 precent of renewable energy systems on farms.

• Nearly 150,000 farmers and ranchers are selling their products directly to consumers, and 50,000 are selling to local retailers. Industry estimates vlued local food sales at $7 billion in 2011.

To access the full 2012 USDA Census of Agriculture report, go to:

http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publi-cations/2012

BMPs Make Horse Sense and Big ImprovementsJamie Cohen, Farm Outreach Coordina-tor for Marion County, has spent much of the past year working with state govern-ment agencies, trying to ensure that the equine industry is properly represented and understood in the development of basin management action plans (BMAPS) designed to reduce nutrient loadings to water resources. In areas where the FDEP adopts a BMAP, agricul-tural producers must implement BMPs adopted by FDACS. BMPs are practi-cal measures to reduce environmental impacts, mostly from fertilizer and manure that gets washed into waterbod-ies.

Jamie works closely with horse farms to implement BMPs, and has seen impressive efforts that have made big improvements. Many horse owners implemented BMPs before they were required because they want to be good environmental stewards.

Improvements have been made both at training facilities and at farms ranging in size from under ten horses to a few hundred. Many facilities have built on-site manure containment/composting systems, or otherwise renovated their manure management systems to comply with BMPs. “It has impressed me so much to see the incredible changes brought on through education, and I

never cease to be amazed by the careful attention given and the lengths farms will go to once they appreciate how the changes will benefit the water resources and their business,” says Jamie.

According to her, manure piles some-times spanning the length of a football field, and reaching ten to thirty feet high, have been removed. These facilities now

compost on-site, use dumpsters, or have built a manure containment system.

Improvements in manure management, including elimination of stockpiling, building manure containment and com- posting structures, or improvements to existing composting sites have provided greater protection to surface and ground waters. These sensible measures have been undertaken in response to educa-tion and outreach, rather than required regulations, clearly illustrating the indus-try’s desire to “do the right thing.”

BMPs include other practices, like improved pasture and grass manage-ment, and more careful fertilization. According to Jamie, “Many horse farms have done much, much more than make manure handling improvements. Each BMP is critical in helping to protect water resources and the future of the indus-try.”

For assistance with equine BMP imple-mentation in Marion County, contact Jamie Cohen at (352) 671-8792 or jamiecohen@ufl.edu .

For assistance with enrolling in equine BMPs and all other OAWP BMP pro-grams, call the Ag BMP Help Line at (850) 617-1727, or email AgBMPHelp@freshfromflorida.com

Manure Composting Facilities

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maintaining it keeps the soil saturated, with little capacity to absorb storm events. Consequently, nutrient-laden stormwater discharges are common with this method.

The TCAA Water Management Partner-ship was formed in 2011 to focus on improved nutrient and water manage-ment to reduce the offsite movement of nitrogen and phosphorus to the Lower St. Johns River. Coordinated by FDACS, participants include, the TCAA grow-ers, FDACS Office of Agricultural Water Policy, FDEP, St. Johns River Water Management District, Natural Resources Conservation Service, UF-IFAS, St.

The Tri-County Agricultural Area (TCAA) includes all or most of Flagler, Putnam, and St. Johns counties within the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD). Growers there produce mostly table stock and chip potatoes, though there is some acreage in cab-bage, Asian vegetables, corn, and sod.

Seepage irrigation, introduced in the 1890s, has been the primary means in the TCAA for watering crops. This method requires the water table to be raised and held to establish and main-tain soil moisture across fields of varying slope and soil type. Establishing the level often takes days or weeks, and

Better Together - The Tri-County Agricultural Area Water Management PartnershipJohns County, Florida Farm Bureau, and Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association, among others. The Partnership pro-vides funding, technical assistance, and educational opportunities to support growers in refining farming methods and implementing water management proj-ects and practices that reduce nutrient runoff.

The key to the Partnership is grower ini-tiative. Even prior to the establishment of the TCAA Partnership, growers were looking for more efficient ways to deliver water and nutrients to their crops. Partnership funds allowed some of them to continue their efforts and others to get started. (continued on next page)

(continued from previous page)

Two TCAA growers that are participating in the Partnership and are excited about the results they have seen are Bryan Jones of Riverdale Farm and Eric Hjort of Tater Farms. Bryan and his dad, Rich-ard, primarily grow potatoes, while Eric’s farm converted from potatoes to sod a couple of years ago.

So Fast and So Efficient

After attending the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, Georgia, a few years ago, Bryan Jones decided to try subsurface drip irrigation on six acres of low-producing land. The results were so good that Bry-an and his dad finished out the 30-acre field with the help of TCAA Partnership funds. They also bought a fertilizer bander through the Partnership to use on the whole farm.

“The subsurface drip is so fast and so efficient,” said Bryan, “you could see the moisture come up within a day. Seep-age irrigation would take a week or more for water to get from one end of the water furrow to the other. We’d have to bank up water 24/7 to irrigate the whole field, sometimes for weeks.”

Bryan indicated that seepage irrigation could take 300,000 gallons per acre to irrigate in a season, depending on rain-fall. One IFAS study comparing subsur-face drip irrigation to seepage irrigation concluded that, on average, subsurface drip applications were 36 percent less than the average seepage applications (Smajstrla, 2000). But Bryan thinks the potential savings might be double that under some conditions.

On a 30-acre block with subsurface drip and banding, they saw $10,000 more in profit, and less runoff. “With subsur-face drip and fertilizer banding, a whole lot less nutrients are leaving the field, and there’s more for the plants to grab. You get maximum yield with minimum loss of water and nutrients. They stay right there where we need them.” The banding equipment has reduced their fertilizer use by 60-75 tons.

Eric says the fertilizer spreader keeps fertilizer out of the water furrows on the seepage fields, and has cut fertilizer use by 10-15 percent. He anticipates lower-ing application rates on the production area because the spreader is so much more uniform.

Eric also plans to install 30-60 acres of subsurface drip, with heavier tubing to withstand the equipment used on sod operations; expand overhead irrigation through the SJRWMD cooperative fund-ing program; and work with St. Johns County to reuse some of the water from their regional stormwater treatment system.

With regard to spreading the technology, Eric says the best way is grower to grow-er. “Growers will move cautiously on changing irrigation systems. Monitoring some of the projects installed through the TCAA Partnership is important to show environmental and production benefits. Right now, fertilizer banding is the biggest success story – the benefits are obvious. The reduction in fertilizer use will save enough money to pay for a bander in two years.”

Installation of Subsurface Drip Tape - Photo by Lincoln Zotarelli, UF-IFAS

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Bryan also has helped five other farms install subsurface drip, two of which received Partnership funding, and hopes to help more farms. “The possibilities for subsurface drip are endless for all types of agriculture,” says Brian. “It may even have implications for urban use. I put the system in for a guy with pasture and horses, and he loved it. I know what can happen on my farm, and the impact is enormous.”

The Benefits are Obvious

Eric Hjort manages Tater Farms for owner Frank Johns. After they decided to switch from potato production to sod, Eric applied to the TCAA Partnership for funds to put in a center pivot system on about 160 acres, install some irriga-tion drain tile on about 80 acres, and purchase a fertilizer spreader.

While Eric has not run the center pivot in 2014 because of all the rain, he ran it last spring. He says the system is much more efficient and uses less water than seepage irrigation. Like Bryan Jones, Eric noted that seep can take up to a week to get to the end of the field and irrigate it evenly. “Then you have to maintain it 24/7, pumping 1400-1600 gallons per minute. With overhead, we only pump 1200 gallons per minute, and it takes 13 hours to make a complete circle. When we need to irrigate, we do that about three times a week.”

A June 2013 Floridan MIL evaluation of Tater Farms’ irrigation systems showed that the new center pivot system had saved more than 428 million gallons of water over conventional seepage.

Overhead Irrigation on Sod

Better Together - The Tri-County Agricultural Area Water Management Partnership

Fertilizer Bander for Potatoes