RESUME
Name: Jim Spratt
Title: Director of environmental policy.
Firm: Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association, 1533 Park Center Drive, Orlando, FL 32835-5705; (407) 295-7994; jspratt@fngla.org; www.fngla.org.
Note: To get a copy of "Florida Container Nursery Best Management Practices," visit the FDACS Office of Agricultural Water Policy Web site (www.floridaagwaterpolicy.com), the University of Florida Department of Environmental Horticulture (http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/bmp) or the FNGLA Web site (www.fngla.org). Growers can also call a county extension agent, FDACS Office of Agricultural Water Policy, (850) 617-1700, or FNGLA, (800) 375-3642.

Do you have a response to this article? Send an e-mail to Todd Davis.

Florida officials announced a new BMP manual for Florida growers. I spoke with Jim Spratt to find out the significance of this publication and to see how new programs can help growers get financial aid for capital improvement projects.

Q. How was the Florida BMP manual formed, and how does it differ from Southern Nursery Association's publication?

A. The "Florida Container Nursery Best Management Practices" manual was developed through a grower-driven process that included extensive working group meetings and participation from a wide variety of stakeholders. The manual reflects sound science, production knowledge and environmental concerns that are applicable throughout Florida.

The Florida manual is largely based on the SNA BMP manual, which is a tremendous resource. Florida law provides specific benefits to growers who adopt BMPs, so growers who choose to follow the Florida manual will be eligible to receive regulatory relief. Secondly, growers implementing the Florida manual will qualify for cost-share grants offered through the state for the purposes of implementing BMPs.

Q. What types of production issues does the Florida BMP manual deal with?

A. Similar to the SNA publication, the Florida BMP manual deals with all stages of plant production from nursery layout to waste management. For example, the manual identifies BMPs such as grouping plants by their water and fertilizer requirements. The manual also recognizes several capital-intensive projects. Examples are retrofitting a nursery irrigation system or engineering and installing ponds on the nursery to collect water runoff. Q. Are most Florida growers already using the best practices in the publication? A. Nursery growers are truly Florida's best environmentalists. Their livelihood is 100 percent dependent on the health of the land and the quality of water they use.

In addition, the term 'best management practices' infers that growers are managing all of their inputs to the penny and making sound business decisions based on the environment and their business.

To this end, I believe many of Florida's nursery growers are indeed already implementing many of the BMPs identified in the manual.

Q. What are the advantages of participating in the program? Specifically what types of regulatory relief can growers receive?

A. There are several advantages associated with participation in the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services BMP program. The most obvious reason is growers are making a concerted effort to minimize any impact to Florida's water resources.

Additionally, Florida law specifically provides grower's implementing BMPs a wavier of liability from recovery costs associated with cleanup of groundwater and a presumption of compliance with state water-quality standards.

The presumption of compliance may be the most significant regulatory relief provided to growers, especially as the Florida Department of Environmental Protection moves forward with the establishment of Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for water bodies within the state.

Last, and certainly not least, growers who implement FDACS BMPs are eligible to receive cost-share grants to assist with BMP implementation.

Q. Will the Florida BMP manual be adopted statewide?

A. Yes, the intention from the beginning of the BMP development process was to adopt the manual statewide. We had to amend the original plan due to specific surface water issues in South Florida. Fortunately, during the development of the BMP manual, the BMP steering committee had the foresight to include practices in the manual that are applicable throughout Florida.

Typically the BMP process is a very methodical process to ensure everyone has a chance to comment on the proposed BMPs. The BMP process includes regional grower meetings, as well as formal rule development workshops.

Luckily, University of Florida, FDACS and FNGLA have been conducting workshops around the state for nearly two years. The focus of the educational workshops is the BMP manual, so growers around the state are already familiar with the publication. As a result, the time needed to adopt the manual statewide should be substantially shorter than usual. FNGLA is focused on having the manual adopted statewide by September or October.

Q. Can you describe the Mobile Irrigation Labs?

A. The Mobile Irrigation Labs (MILs) were originally designed to assist agricultural producers as well as urban homeowners in conserving water. The MILs are equipped with professionals who provide irrigation system evaluations and recommendations for improving irrigation systems. MILs provide their services free of charge. As a result of the MILs' original charge and their ability to assist growers regionally, it was concluded that MIL staffs could provide BMP assistance to growers.

As a pilot project, the MILs in Palm Beach County and Miami-Dade County have been providing traditional MIL assistance and technical assistance to growers, regarding the Container Nursery BMP manual and the associated cost-share program. This concept has been received with open arms by the growers and FDACS plans to continue this MILs model in other areas of the state.

As a complement to the MILs, UF has several BMP implementation teams that work in the Treasure Coast and Lower West Coast areas. Similar to the MILs, the BMP implementation teams are equipped to provide growers with technical assistance on BMP implementation, as well as assisting with cost-share grant applications.

Q. How can growers participate in the cost-share grant program?

A. To participate in the BMP program, growers must fill out the BMP assessment and complete a Notice of Intent to Implement (both of these documents are in the manual). Growers must file their completed Notice of Intent with the FDACS Office of Agricultural Water Policy.

After reviewing the BMP manual, some growers may be interested in applying for cost-share assistance to implement specific BMPs. Growers interested in cost-share assistance should contact their local MIL, the UF BMP Implementation Team or FNGLA for information about availability of cost-share programs in their area.

Q. How important is grower participation?

A. The BMP program is nothing short of a golden opportunity for Florida growers. The BMP program is specifically authorized and funded by the Florida Legislature.

The success of the BMP program is measured through grower participation. It's absolutely critical for growers to demonstrate their support of the BMP program through strong participation.

Otherwise, we may be given a regulatory alternative to the BMP program, which would not necessarily consider grower input, science or economic feasibility in the final product.

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© 2006 Branch-Smith Publishing