H2Ohio Agricultural and Water Quality Program expands to include all of Ohio

The Wayne Soil & Water Conservation District (Wayne SWCD) has begun taking sign-ups from agricultural producers, as the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s (ODA) H2Ohio water quality program expands to include the entire state.

The H2Ohio program is designed to reduce nutrient run-off by incentivizing producers to implement science-based, proven best management practices (BMP’s) on the farm. The program has been in place in the Lake Erie watershed of Northwestern Ohio since 2019, and is now being expanded to include the entire state.

Initially, the focus will be on developing Nutrient Management Plans (NMP) for producers. An NMP takes into account the nutritional needs of the soil for crop production, then carefully prescribes nutritional inputs to balance those needs. This is a win-win for both the producer and the environment as nutrient runoff is minimized. Lost nutrients are lost dollars and can create water quality issues downstream.

Producers enrolling in the H2Ohio Program will earn $10 per enrolled acre ($5 per year over two years) for development of an NMP and may earn as much as $15 per enrolled acre depending on their level of precision with regard to soil sampling and nutrient application. In most cases, the stipend will more than pay for development of the plan, which can ultimately serve as a starting point for additional opportunities for funding of conservation Best Management Practices (BMPs) as more funding is made available.

Sign-up time is limited as are the number of acres Wayne County may enroll. Interested producers should contact Wayne SWCD ag resources coordinator Cody Beale at 330-263-5376 or cbeale@wayneohio.org for more details and/or to schedule an appointment for sign-up.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: H2Ohio Agricultural and Water Quality Program expands to include all of Ohio