MANASOTA & PEACE RIVER BBDs Meeting Notebook 10-21-09.docx

H017
Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems Program
Project Type WS&R Dev.
AOR(s)
Water Supply, Water Quality
Basin(s) General Fund (District), Alafia River, Hillsborough River, Northwest Hillsborough, Coastal Rivers,
Pinellas-Anclote River, Withlacoochee River, Peace River, Manasota
Cooperator(s)
Project Manager ORENDORFF, BILL
Task Manager(s)
Status Ongoing
Fl. Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
ESTES, CAROLE, SUMMERALL, LINDA
Description
The Facilitating Agricultural Resource Management Systems (FARMS) Program is an agricultural Best Management
Practice (BMP) cost-share reimbursement program. The program is a public/private partnership developed by the
District and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). The purpose of the FARMS
initiative is to provide an incentive to the agricultural community, within the District, to implement agricultural BMPs that
will provide resource benefits that include water quality improvement; reduced Upper Floridian aquifer withdrawals;
and/or conserve, restore, or augment the area's water resources and ecology. FARMS is intended to assist in the
implementation of the District's Regional Water Supply Plan.
Benefits
The goal for the FARMS Program is to offset 40 mgd of ground water within the District by 2025. Ground water use
reductions not only benefit the Upper Floridan aquifer but also can improve surface water quality in areas where
ground water is highly mineralized. According to the District's Water Management Information System (WMIS), there
are 6,395 permitted agricultural permits in the District, with a combined permitted annual average daily ground water
quantity of 699,485,000 gpd. Since actual use of permitted quantities is dependent on hydrologic conditions, one of the
main goals of the FARMS program is to provide cost-share that helps reduce ground water use, regardless of
hydrologic conditions. Therefore, FARMS projects not only offset ground water use with surface water but also try to
increase the overall efficiency of irrigation water use. Each project's performance is tracked to determine its
effectiveness. To date, total ground water offset accomplished through the FARMS Program by District funding has
cost $1.40 per 1000 gallons.
Costs
From the inception of the FARMS Program through FY2007 a total of $10,837,563 has been spent on FARMS
projects with $4,700,599, or 43.4 percent coming from the farming participants and $6,136,964, or 56.6 percent, from
public funding through the FARMS budget. Public funding sources for total project reimbursement is as follows: basin
boards - 6.9 percent, Governing Board - 10.3 percent, State Appropriations - 27.5 percent, and FDACS - 11.8 percent.
Additional Information
FARMS also funds a limited amount of non-project related outreach activities and data collection efforts in support of
the Program. These include: IFAS Flatwood Citrus BMP Implementation. The District will provide $50,000 to this
project for three years for a total of $150,000. This is an outreach effort by IFAS that furthers the goals of FARMS
Program in the SPJC watersheds, in addition to growers within Manatee, Hardee, Sarasota, DeSoto, and Charlotte
Counties IFAS Row Crop BMP Implementation. The District will provide $50,000 to this project for two years, and
$55,000 in the final year for a total of $155,000. This is also an outreach effort by IFAS that furthers the goals of
FARMS Program in Hillsborough, Manatee, Hardee, Sarasota, DeSoto, and Charlotte Counties. Finally for the Upper
Myakka Surface-Water Quality Monitoring Network - funding for the deployment of data sondes at seven USGS gage
sites in the UMRW has been approved. The network will assist in better understanding agricultural impacts on Flatford
Swamp and in determining the effectiveness of FARMS projects.
021 - Manasota Basin 205