No more honor system: Florida ag commissioner promises inspections, reports to help clean up water
Amy Bennett Williams
After touring the Caloosahatchee estuary Monday morning, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried promised her department will double down on its work for clean water.
The cruise on the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation’s research vessel Norma Campbell kicked off a statewide tour announcing Fried’s Office of Agricultural Water Policy’s Clean Water Initiative.
As head of the department that oversees the No. 2 driver of the state’s economy with a $237 billion impact and 2 million jobs, Fried said, “I want to see agriculture thrive …making sure we’re providing a happy balance between agricultural production and also efficiency, conservation and the environment.”
Previously, farmers and ranchers who’ve signed up for what are called “best management practices,” which guide their use of chemicals and farming techniques, have been on the honor system, something environmental advocates have long questioned.
“When it comes to self-regulating industries, there’s not a great history of success,” said the nonprofit SCCF’s Director Ryan Orgera. “It’s really important that we take a closer look, and that we work towards enforcement.”
The idea would be to clean water flowing from farms that later makes its way into the river, then to the estuary and the coastal barrier islands, which are key to Southwest Florida’s tourism industry, said Orgera. “In Florida, the environment is the economy,” he said. “If you don’t care about the critters, that’s fine, but I’ll bet you care about the economy."
The new program will provide actual boots-on-the-ground monitoring.
“For the first time ever, my department is inspecting, collecting and aggregating detailed records of nutrients applied,” Fried said. “This increases accountability, transparency and provides data necessary to inform decisions based on strong science.”
Knowing what, exactly, is going into the water from fields and pastures is an important tool for scientists and policymakers trying to clean that water up, Fried said.
As some examples of best management practices, longtime Hendry County extension agent Gene McAvoy says, “If I was a cattle rancher, maybe I would rotate my pastures, or I could fence off the canals so the cows don’t poop in the water – there’s a whole litany of practices – not every farmer could do everything, but you do what’s technologically and economically feasible for you.”
It used to be on the honor system, McAvoy says, but “Now, you must keep records and documents so they can verify it all.”
The ag department has been doing a series of educational workshop around the state outlining the changes.
The rules themselves are also being revised, Fried said, something that hasn’t happened for more than a decade. Developed in partnership with Florida's universities, farmers, water management districts, stakeholders and the state's Department of Environmental Protection, best management practices aim to conserve water and improve its quality by reducing the amount of pollutants like fertilizer, pesticide and manure getting into the state's water.
The reviews from farmers so far?
“Mixed,” Fried told a gathering of reporters after the tour. “Some are already doing these things (and) it’s welcome. There are so many good actors out there … but there is definitely a hesitation from third- fourth- fifth-generation farmers who are used to putting in shoeboxes their receipts and other information, and now have to do it in an organized fashion and actually give it to the department of agriculture,” she said.
“It’s going to cost a little bit of overhead, so there’s been a little bit of resistance,” she said. “No one likes change, but we’re trying to do what’s right.”
Because the current program has been in place for more than a decade, none of this should be a surprise for farmers, she says. “Unfortunately, it has not been enforced and it has not been followed. So what we’re doing is actually following the law.”
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U.S. Sugar, one of Florida's major farming interests, had not offered a comment by mid-afternoon Monday.
Signing up for the program is voluntary, but those who don’t are more closely scrutinized than those who do, Fried says. “So there already is kind of the carrot built into the way the program operates (but) the stick was never used.” Now, she says, “we’re saying the stick is there, and we’re going to utilize all the tools we have in order to make sure we’re protecting the land and the water.”
Another challenge is the working relationship with other state agencies. For example, though Fried said her department finished revisions on the BMP handbooks months ago, the process remains in limbo. “We sent those manuals over to DEP last year, we’re still waiting for DEP to get back to us.” A DEP spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If inspectors find violations, they’re forwarded to the state’s environmental protection department, Fried says. The state DEP reports to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis; Fried is a Democrat whose office is independent and does not report to the governor.
“If a farmer, rancher – someone who’s involved in the program – is not complying with the parameters, we then send it over to the DEP,” she said. “So they’ve got the enforcement wing.”
But do the rules have teeth?
“I hope so,” Fried said. “That is certainly something that is a concern.” Turning the tables, Fried quizzed the reporters.
“Prior to me getting into office, do you know how many cases were turned over to DEP?”
Silence. “How many?” a News-Press reporter asked.
“Zero,” Fried said.
“And since?” the reporter asked.
“Sixty-six hundred,” she said.
But as for outcomes, Fried said, “So far, we haven’t seen a lot of movement, which is, of course, concerning.”
But her department is doing its part, she said. “We are updating the manual. That is certainly something, and we (hope) DEP understands they have a role to play here and that they to need to step up to the plate.”
Orgera agrees.
“I’m hoping that the Department of Environmental Protection works closely with the Department of Agriculture to achieve this, because neither can do it alone … Through public pressure, we can get DEP to be responsive and vice versa … I think that’s our only hope.”
Ultimately, he says, “This is a non-partisan issue. There is no separation between our economy and our environment. We’re not just asking for a healthy ecosystem; we’re asking for a thriving economy.”