The Ohio Department of Agriculture is rolling out the H2Ohio plan this month at eight meetings in the Maumee River Watershed. Farmers living in the following 14 northwest Ohio counties will be eligible to apply for funds at their local Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD) starting this week: Allen, Auglaize, Defiance, Fulton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Lucas, Mercer, Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert, Williams, and Wood. Soil and water Conservation Districts will be the first contact for farmers interested in the available funding.
There is a series of meetings in February for farmers to learn more about the program.
Meeting dates and locations are:
February 4
3 p.m.
Owens Community College
Veterans Hall
30335 Oregon Road
Perrysburg
February 5
2 p.m.
Delphos Eagles
1600 E. 5th Street
Delphos
February 5
6 p.m.
Defiance K of C Hall
111 Elliott Road
Defiance
February 11
6 p.m.
Auglaize Co. Jr. Fair Bldg.
1001 Fairview Drive
Wapakoneta
February 18
6 p.m.
American Legion Hall
601 N. 2nd St.
Coldwater
February 20
6 p.m.
Fogle Center
815 E. Mathias St.
Leipsic
February 27
6 p.m.
Kissell Community Bldg.
509 N. Main Street
West Unity
February 28
9:30 a.m.
Ohio Northern University
McIntosh Center
525 S. Main Street
Ada
Farmers are strongly encouraged to contact their local SWCD offices by March 31st to get the process started. A Voluntary Nutrient Management Plan is required and only farm fields with soil phosphorus test levels of 50ppm (Bray P-1) or lower will be eligible for funded practices. The first seven practices eligible for funding are: Nutrient Management Plans, Variable-Rate Fertilizer, Subsurface Nutrient Application, Manure Incorporation, Conservation Crop Rotation, Cover Crops, and Drainage Water Management.
The website to learn more about the program and the practices being funded is http://h2.ohio.gov/