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- Oversees the Agriculture Stewardship Program Agreement between Hillsborough County and agricultural landowners, which provides an incentive to landowners in the form of an annual grant, in exchange for an agreement from the landowner to not convert agricultural land to non-agricultural use for a period of 10 years.
- The grant is equal to 75% of the ad valorem tax value on the agricultural land and agriculture production-related structures.
- Approximately 9,000 acres and 220 properties are currently participating in the project.
- Implemented a program, in cooperation with the Solid Waste Management Department and Cooperative Extension Service, to provide agriculture pesticide collections for farmers to dispose of cancelled, suspended and unusable agricultural pesticides. Funding is through the Environmental Protection Commission’s Pollution Recovery Fund.
- Organized one of the first sessions in the area on green commercial development for commercial real estate developers and investors in 2007 for the Florida Gulf Coast Association of Realtors, which included speakers from the County’s Planning & Growth Management Department and County Planning Commission.
- Facilitated planning discussions with US EnviroFuels, the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) Research and Education Center, and the Cooperative Extension Service to discuss the proposed ethanol plant in Hillsborough County and the possibility of growing crops locally for use in the plant.
- Potential growers in the County have been solicited and the group has applied for a Florida Department of Environmental Protection Renewable Energy Technologies Grant to research the possibility of growing crops for ethanol in the County.
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