District accepting applications for agricultural cost-share program

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HAVANA – The Northwest Florida Water Management District is accepting applications for cost-share funding to help agricultural producers improve water quality and reduce water use demands in and around the Jackson Blue Spring groundwater contribution area.

The District’s Fiscal Year 2016-2017 budget includes $1 million in new funding for the Jackson Blue Spring Agricultural Best Management Practice Cost-Share Program. This initiative builds on the success of the 2013-2016 program, which awarded more than $3.1 million to 39 producers in Jackson County.

The grant program provides cost-share funding for irrigation system improvements and equipment and tools to reduce fertilizer and pesticide use and improve water use efficiency – protecting both water quantity and quality. Under the BMP program, the District will reimburse 75 percent of the cost of qualifying BMPs (up to a maximum of $56,250 for each producer), with the producers funding the remaining 25 percent.

Projects that have been funded through the program include subsurface drip irrigation, variable rate fertilizer applicators, fertigation equipment, irrigation system retrofits, and remote control and zone management tools for irrigation systems.

The District is currently accepting applications from agricultural producers within the Jackson Blue Spring and Merritts Mill Pond contribution area. Applications for the first award cycle are due August 31, 2017.

Applications will continue to be accepted after that date for subsequent award cycles as long as there are uncommitted funds. Producers who have not previously received funding from the District will be given priority.

To be eligible, producers must be:

  • Operating within or adjacent to the Jackson Blue Spring and Merritt’s Mill Pond Basin Management Action Plan Area;
  • Enrolled in the appropriate Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Best Management Practice program; and
  • In regulatory compliance with the District.

A full list of funded measures and an application form can be found on the District website at nwfwater.com. Producers can contact Angela Chelette (850-539-2650) with any questions about the funding program.

Producers who are interested in obtaining funding can expedite their application by enrolling or updating their enrollment in the FDACS BMP program as soon as possible by contacting Tom Batey, FDACS Field Representative at (850-693-5430) or visiting the FDACS website at www.freshfromflorida.com.

 

The District recommends that producers who want to upgrade irrigation equipment contact Mark Miles of the Northwest Florida Mobile Irrigation Lab (MIL) at (850-482-0388) to schedule an irrigation system evaluation. Having these two items complete will allow an application to move forward more quickly.