15 More Ag Projects in Florida Get Green Light for Conservation Efforts
April 30, 2021 Another 15 agricultural projects in North-Central Florida will share in cost-share funds from two different funding programs of the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) to assist farmers and growers on projects that conserve water and reduce nutrient loading to area waterways.
During a recent meeting, the SJRWMD Governing Board approved the following eight projects to receive Districtwide Agricultural Cost-Share Program funds this cycle:
- Long and Scott Farms Inc., Lake County, for irrigation conversion
- Frog Song Organics LLC, Alachua County, for irrigation retrofit
- Cherrylake Inc., Lake County, for irrigation retrofit
- Walker Farms, Putnam County, for precision fertilizer application equipment
- Twin Lakes-Cherrylake Partnership LLC, Lake County, for pump automation
- Summer Lake-Grace Grover Partnership, Lake County, for pump automation
- Lennon & Wilson, Lake County, for pump automation
- Quality Trees, Marion County, for tailwater recovery and reuse
According to SJRWMD, these projects are estimated to collectively conserve 57 million gallons of water a year and reduce total nitrogen by 6,614 pounds and total phosphorus by 761 pounds per year.
In addition, the Board also approved seven projects to receive funds through the separate, but related Tri-County Agricultural Area (TCAA) Water Management Partnership Cost-Share Program. The TCAA includes portions of Flagler, Putnam, and St. Johns counties.
The projects include:
* Yu An Farms LLC, St. Johns County, for irrigation conversion
* Smith Farms Inc, St. Johns County, for irrigation conversion
* Barnes Farm LLLP, St. Johns County, for irrigation conversion
* Boardwalk Farms, Putnam County, for irrigation conversion
* Tater Farms, St. Johns County, for precision fertilizer application equipment
* Huckleberry Farms, Flagler County, for static pile compost aeration
* L&M Farms, Putnam County, for irrigation conversion preparation
SJRWMD stats estimate these projects collectively conserve 26.3 million gallons of water a year and reduce total nitrogen by 10,983 pounds per year and total phosphorus by 2,121 pounds per year.
Eligible projects for funding include irrigation system retrofits, soil moisture and climate sensor telemetry, rainwater harvesting, subirrigation drain tile and more. The program is entirely voluntary and includes a requirement that funding recipients modify their consumptive use permits to memorialize the actual water reductions resulting from the District’s monetary contribution.
To find out more about the cost-share program, visit sjrwmd.com/localgovernments/funding.