Is drip irrigation considered a Best Management Practice?
Yes. Best Management Practices (BMPs) are cultural practices that help reduce the environmental impact of production while maintaining or increasing productivity. The BMP program for vegetables grown in Florida is described in “Water quality/quantity best management practices for Florida vegetable and agronomic crops” (Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, 2005). The BMP manual describes all the BMPs that apply to vegetable production, as well as a decision-tree to identify the BMPs that apply to each operation and guidelines for completing and submitting the Notice of Intent to Implement (Gazula et al., 2007). Participation in the Florida BMP program and the organic certification program are two separate processes. Vegetable growers who are enrolled in the statewide BMP program receive three statutory benefits: (1) a waiver of liability from reimbursement of cost and damages associated with the evaluation, assessment, or remediation of nitrate contamination of groun
