Lead Agency: University of Florida – Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Description: A beef cattle stocking rate BMP will be implemented and demonstrated on a ranch in the Lake Okeechobee Basin. This project is part of a multi-phase program to optimize phosphorus loading BMPs (stocking rate, fertilization practices, and rotational grazing) for implementation on cattle ranches in the Lake Okeechobee Basin. The optimization project demonstrates four potential stocking rate BMPs (number of acres per cow) as applied to 16 pastures. These pastures are located on the two major types of grazing lands in south Florida (summer pasture and winter range).

The project includes the addition of a new ground water component and a decision support tools component to make results extendable to other locations in the region and state. The project is accompanied by a strong educational component using traditional workshops and publications along with a strong emphasis on complementing these methods with Internet web pages and audio/video delivery systems (http://www.agen.ufl.edu/~maerc).

The current project (stocking rate optimization) needs to be continued and expanded for two years to allow time for the effects of the stocking rate treatments to become evident in the water quality and soils data sets. While there is a significant lag in observable stocking rate treatment effects, the effects of prior land use practices have been successfully documented by the current DEP 319(h) project. The documented relationship between soil nutrient content and runoff water quality represents an important finding that will be useful in developing innovative BMP assessment and implementation strategies applicable even beyond beef cattle ranches and other agricultural land uses in south Florida.

In addition to its direct importance to SFWMD plans for SWIM program implementation in the Lake Okeechobee watershed, results of this project will find direct application in other south Florida watersheds where beef cattle ranching is a significant land use. This includes several of the DEP priority watersheds targeted under the SWIM, NEP, TMDL, and UWA programs. This agroecology initiative at Buck Island Ranch is unique in its multidisciplinary approach that incorporates economic, wildlife, and other considerations into water quality BMP development, implementation and education programs. The project also brings together a large, diverse team composed of professionals from the SFWMD, Archbold Biological Station, Florida Cattlemen’s Association, NRCS, and UF-IFAS.