District’s agricultural cost-share program expands

HAVANA – Sprinkled among the expansive green fields in Jackson County are towering irrigation systems, crop rows stretching to the horizon, and lazily grazing cattle. These are the lands of local producers, farmers and landowners of the largest agricultural area in northwest Florida. Not only do these lands provide food for communities but they are integral to the welfare of the neighboring Jackson Blue Spring, and, ultimately, the Chipola River.

With the aim of protecting these water resources, the Northwest Florida Water Management District, in cooperation with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, launched the Agricultural Cost-Share Program to work with local producers to find ways to reduce the strain on water supplies and lessen nitrate concentrations in groundwater caused by agricultural practices. The program, now in its 13th year, has experienced so much success that its eligibility area has recently been expanded from solely the Jackson Blue Spring Basin Management Plan (BMAP) area to also include the greater Chipola River Springs GWCA.

The focus of the District’s grant program is to provide cost-share funding for eligible equipment purchases and agricultural practices that reduce water use or nitrogen application. Producers can choose from a list of eligible equipment and practices, ranging from nutrient and irrigation management to conservation tillage and livestock management. Some producers may focus on retrofitting their existing irrigation systems with newer, more efficient technology, while others might focus on systems that reduce the amount of fertilizer applied to crops.

A newer part of this program deals with sod-based crop rotation. Originally developed by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS), sod-based crop rotation alternates grass production with legume and row crop production and has shown to improve soil composition and increase crop yields. If cattle are also present and grazing in the same fields, there is the added benefit of cycling nutrients at the surface of the soil profile rather than losing them through leeching below the root zones. Data collected by the UF/IFAS has shown the sod-based rotation farming system has the potential to reduce irrigation water usage and nitrogen usage by 50 percent while increasing crop yields from 15-40 percent.

To achieve maximum efficacy, producers who opt into the sod-based crop rotation grant program will begin a four-year crop rotation plan. Initially, a perennial grass is grown for the first two years, with or without cattle grazing. Then, in the third year, a peanut or other legume crop is planted on top of the grass that has been killed via herbicide treatment. Finally, a crop with higher nitrogen requirements, such as corn or cotton, is planted in the fourth year.

For a producer to receive funding from the Agricultural Cost-Share Program, there are several requirements that must be met for program eligibility. These include having the project site be owned or leased by the producer, it must be located within the Jackson Blue Spring BMAP or the Chipola River Springs GWCA, and it must be in regulatory compliance. Additionally, the producer and project site must be enrolled in the applicable FDACS BMP program, all irrigation projects must have a prior qualifying Mobile Irrigation Lab evaluation, and all equipment purchased under District cost-share within the past five years must be inspected by District staff prior to entering into a new cost-share agreement. Lastly, the project must not be funded from any other cost-share programs.

Once all requirements have been met, producers may apply for cost-share assistance using their Notice of Intent (NOI) once per calendar year for each equipment and practices and/or cover crops, with a September 30 deadline for applications. Under the program, the District will fund 75 percent of qualifying equipment and practices costs with the producers providing the remaining 25 percent. Cover crop reimbursement rates are approximately $55 per acre for single species and $65 per acre for multiple species, limited to 300 acres per NOI. Maximum reimbursement for equipment and practices and cover crops combined is $100,000 per grant funding source.

For those interested in participating in the Agricultural Cost-Share program, or anyone looking for more information, please visit https://nwfwater.com/Water-Resources/Agriculture/.