Agriculture: Regulations & Standards
November 21, 2019
Recently, in the wake of the Harmful Algae Blooms plaguing Florida, Agriculture has “gotten a bad wrap” as causing all of Florida’s environmental woes.
Unfortunately, the general public seems to be under the impression that agricultural operations are free to do as they please and the result is the death of Florida’s natural and endangered species, our beaches, and tourism. This, in fact, is far from the truth. If you were to dissect every activity that is essential to a successfully operated agricultural operation and list them, I will point you to the regulation, put forth and enforced by a state or federal entity, that dictates how that activity is to be responsibly executed. This is true of
• Areas of a property allowed to be developed
• How (and how much) water is obtained and what it can be used for
• Number of animals on a property and how those animals are housed, moved, and grazed
• Waste water storage, treatment, and reuse
• Stormwater storage, treatment, and reuse
• What crops can be planted and when
• Irrigation of crops with fresh water
• Irrigation of crops with reuse water
• Concentration amount of applied nutrients
• The concentration amount of nutrients allowed to leave the property
• And much more…
The article below does a good job of illustrating the standards to which agricultural operations are held in terms of land and water management as well as how they help protect our vital natural resources.
