At the Rafter T Ranch in Sebring cows cluster lazily in the shade of palm trees, while a 150-acre retention pond is a scene reminescent of the days before Florida was drained. Its a marshy paradise for wildlife attracting roseate spoonbills and freshwater pelicans. Jimmy Wohl says hes never seen birds like that before on his ranch. The cypress trees in that pond, if you come back here this evening itll be white with the white ibis that roost in there. Wohl has spent nearly all of his life here. Its the same 5,200-acre ranch his father bought in 1962. He got into farming water about five years ago after three hurricanes soaked Lake Okeechobee, forcing the lakes polluted water to coastal estuaries. Hes let ditches fill with sediment to create the 150-acre retention pond. Hes also planted water-tolerant grasses where cows can graze during the winter dry season. Hes undoing much of his fathers work to drain the land. When my dad bought the property he immediately built a dike along the creek so that he could protect his property from excess water, keep it pumped out and maximize his ability to grow forages. And that was the mindset in those days. Wohl is one of nearly two-dozen Florida ranchers and citrus growers who are farming water. Two dozen more are lined up for funding. But its not there. For nearly a decade the South Florida Water Management District has paid landowners north of Lake Okeechobee to cleanse and store water. The idea is to turn water into a cash crop. Landowners are paid by the amount they store. The price also is based on the value of the cattle or crop they otherwise would raise on the land. Charles Lee of Audubon of Florida says farming water is the latest in an evolution of water management in this state of frequent rain and hurricanes.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Nov 2013 16:29:16 +0000