Agricultural irrigated land-use inventory for Osceola County, Florida, October 2013-April 2014

Abstract

A detailed inventory of irrigated crop acreage is not available at the level of resolution needed to increase the accuracy of current water-use estimates or to project future water demands in many Florida counties. This report provides a detailed digital map and summary of irrigated areas within Osceola County for the agricultural growing period October 2013-April 2014. The irrigated areas were first delineated using land-use data and satellite imagery and then field verified between February and April 2014. Selected attribute data were collected for the irrigated areas, including crop type, primary water source, and type of irrigation system. Results indicate that an estimated 27,450 acres were irrigated during the study period. This includes 4,370 acres of vegetables, 10,970 acres of orchard crops, 1,620 acres of field crops, and 10,490 acres of ornamentals and grasses. Specifically, irrigated acreage included citrus (10,860 acres), sod (5,640 acres), pasture (4,580 acres), and potatoes (3,320 acres). Overall, groundwater was used to irrigate 18,350 acres (67 percent of the total acreage), and surface water was used to irrigate the remaining 9,100 acres (33 percent). Microirrigation systems accounted for 45 percent of the total acreage irrigated, flood systems 30 percent, and sprinkler systems the remaining 25 percent. An accurate, detailed, spatially referenced, and field-verified inventory of irrigated crop acreage can be used to assist resource managers making current and future county-level water-use estimates in Osceola County.

Forecasting Water Demands in South Florida in the Context of Everglades Restoration: Retrospective

“…But recent findings by the USGS raise questions about all of the preceding methodologies. Marella and Dixon (2014) and Marella et al (2018a, b, c, d, e, f), in their pioneering field verification studies of irrigated farmland, crop choice, and irrigation equipment in South Florida counties, found 21.8% fewer irrigated hectares [that is, 36,584 ha (90,400 acres)] than those listed in the Florida Statewide Irrigation Demand (FSAID) Irrigation Lands Geodatabase (ILG), version 4, used by the Balmoral Group studies, and 17.4% more [that is, 19,492 ha (48,167 acres)] irrigated acres than reported in the 2017 US Agricultural Census for those 6 counties (USDA 2019). Continuous monitoring is needed to verify actual agriculture water use.…”

Agricultural irrigated land-use inventory for Jackson, Calhoun, and Gadsden Counties in Florida, and Houston County in Alabama, 2014

“…In 2013, the Florida Legislature mandated that future water demand projections for the agricultural irrigation part of these water supply plans be provided by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) for consideration by the WMDs (Marella and Dixon, 2014). The water supply plans typically project 20 years into the future and are updated by the WMDs on a 5-year cycle.…”