The Mini-FARMS Program promotes agricultural water quality and water quantity best management practices (BMPs) and provides overall water resource benefits to agriculture properties. The Mini-FARMS Program works with and provides a mechanism for enrollment in the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) adopted agricultural BMPs program, through a Notice of Intent (NOI) to implement BMPs. Through the Mini-FARMS Program, the District will reimburse growers for select agricultural practices that have water conservation potential and/or water quality improvement benefits.
Program Guidelines
To be eligible to participate in the Mini-FARMS Program, the application must meet the following guidelines:
- The property must be actively engaged in agriculture for the last two years.
- The property must be located within the District’s boundary.
- The property must enroll in the applicable FDACS BMP program.
- The property must be in compliance with District regulatory requirements.
- The irrigation system must have been evaluated by a Mobile Irrigation Lab (MIL) within the last 18 months or must be scheduled for an evaluation within 18 months following project approval. Contact FDACS and/or District staff for MIL information or visit WaterMatters.org/Mobile.
- Applicants may be approved for up to two (2) projects per NOI and/or Water Use Permit(WUP) area within the same District fiscal year not to exceed five (5) applications during the Mini-FARMS Program lifetime. The number of approved projects will be tracked by NOI and/or WUP area by FARMS staff.