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Farmers say they are working to protect the region's aquifer and springs

The Gainesville Sun - 10/22/2021

Oct. 22—People need clean water to drink and food to eat but in North Central Florida, those necessities are at odds.

The aquifer, the source of the region's drinking water and its springs, is in long-term decline in part because of pumping by farms for irrigation.

Nitrates are increasingly infiltrating the water, fouling springs and endangering health. Environmental groups pin much of the cause on fertilizer use by farmers and waste from dairy farms.

A study by the Florida Springs Council estimates that 92% of the nutrients in springs along the Suwannee River and 80% along the Santa Fe River are from agriculture.

Farmers may debate whether the damage they are doing is as severe as some contend, but they acknowledge they are a factor.

More important, they say, new technology and changes to the way they farm is reducing the water they pump and the nitrates they produce.

"Healthy springs, a healthy aquifer, healthy rivers are critical to the future of farming. We can't survive without a healthy water source," Charles Shinn, government affairs director of the Florida Farm Bureau, said. "We're trying our hardest to thread this needle and make it all work. It's hard. There's a mindset among some — some — that ag isn't doing anything and that is just not the case."

The eye of that needle is being a steward of the environment while earning enough income to keep the farm afloat.

Reducing water and fertilizer use helps both ends. Fuel and electricity to run irrigation systems eat into the bottom line while the price of fertilizer has risen faster than the Suwannee River after a hurricane blows over.

Technology has come to the farm in a big way to cut expenses and reduce environmental impacts.

The use of soil sensors to learn where and how much water is needed are increasingly used.

Irrigation systems are computer driven. Farmers can use cellphones to learn if rain is falling on a spot currently being irrigated and shut down the flow if it is.

Some of the expense of the technology is paid with cost-share grants from the Suwannee River Water Management District.

District senior hydrologist Tom Mirti said the changes are reducing water use.

"Anecdotally, on the basis of numerous farms, the ability to turn on and off (irrigation) from afar...is one way new technology is definitely helping," Mirti said. "A farmer's general gut reaction is to put more on, not less, to ensure it's got enough. The moisture probes tell them 'you've got enough out here.'"

Some irrigation systems can now deliver fertilizer and do so in a way that gets it closer to the root system.

Shinn said that enables less use of fertilizer and cuts nutrients filtering into the aquifer.

Old practices of applying fertilizer "fence row to fence row" or overloading a bit as insurance are largely gone.

"It's called the four Rs — the right place, the right time, the right source of nutrient material and the right amount. It has really gained ground, especially in the last three years or so," Shinn said. "Technology in the past five years has leapfrogged. The cost has dropped considerably, which has made it available to more and more farmers."

Nutrient pollution has long been associated with dairies, especially the big facilities.

Cows are kept in large, open-air "free-stall" barns and their manure is flushed into lagoons lined with concrete or plastic. From there it is sprayed onto crops — typically corn — that is used as cow feed.

Too often, more was sprayed onto the crop than could be absorbed. So nutrient-heavy excess was washed into the aquifer.

Most dairies are required to have nutrient management plans developed by a certified agricultural engineer and approved by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, said Ray Hodge, director of United Dairy Farmers of Florida.

"Crop-growing is key to nutrient balance. The plan outlines how you are going to do everything possible to be in compliance," Hodge said. "It's expensive and you have to update them every five years. It can usually be $15,000 plus the monitoring requirements. Permitted dairies have monitoring wells to let us know if they are problems."

The number of dairies in North Florida has declined — about 17 now milk herds compared to double that 10 years ago, Hodge said.

Farms near imperiled water systems that are under a state-designated protection measure called a basin management action plan are required to use best management practices, or BMPs, to shrink their impacts on the aquifer and springs.

Use of BMPs is voluntary for other farms.

Many of the practices cited by Shinn and Hodge are among the BMPs.

Some researchers question whether they are effective. Robert Knight of the Florida Springs Institute is doubtful.

"BMPs do not actually reduce the nitrogen loads in the aquifer. It's never been proven," Knight said. "BMPs are sort of a good faith thing to do that doesn't cost the farmer anything."

Agricultural groups believe the measures are making a difference.

Gene Adams, chairman of the Florida Ag Coalition, said in an email that nearly four million acres of farmland is under BMP programs.

The Florida Legislature last year strengthened BMPs by increasing enrollment, incorporating new science and technology and establishing accountability to prove the farming industry is meeting its commitments, Adams said.

"Florida's environment is complex, and it takes time for ag industry efforts to move the needle, but the industry is committed to caring for the precious land and finite water resources that are a critical part of the landscape and sensitive ecosystem," Adams said. "For Florida families to continue to depend on Florida farmers for wholesome foods, everyone must work together toward this common goal."

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