Let Ashland SWCD help you crush #Plant20

I feel like one morning I woke up and the grass was finally starting to get green again. Stuck in this bizarre time right now I feel like we all needed a little sunshine and warmer temperatures. As we all adjust to our new normal, something that won’t change this spring is the tractors pulling into fields with their planters in tow. We are extremely thankful for that sense of normalcy this year, and the farmers continue to plant their crops and tend to their animals.

With the drastic changes happening across the country we want to remind you we are here to help! Although our staff is teleworking, we still continue to provide Ashland County with services including equipment rental, soil testing, filter fabric sales, cover crop cost share, and crop modeling.

I know I am not alone when I say things around the farm have been muddy for what seems like forever. A great solution to those muddy areas, like around the round bale feeders, are heavy use pads. At Ashland SWCD we are able to design heavy use pads to NRCS standard that include the use of filter fabric. We have multiple sizes of filter fabric for sale (I have heard this is great for driveways too).

Or maybe you are just looking to reseed an area that has been torn up, worn down, or just is gettng scarce. We’ve got you covered. We recently added a seeder to our lineup of rental equipment. The seeder comes attached to a side by side and includes a GPS unit.

But first make sure you test your soil. Seed is not cheap, so make sure what you put out there is going to grow like it should! Soil test packages start at just $10/sample.

As always, we continue to provide two John Deere no-till drills for rent this year as well. These are a great resource for planting your cover crops, seeding waterways, and getting your beans in the ground this spring!

Although it seems we are still trying to recover from winter and are just in the beginning stages of spring, it’s not too early to start planning for this fall. Again, this year we are able to offer cover crop cost share to producers within the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District. Cost share rates are $12/acre for returning producers, $15/acre for new producers and up to $20/acre for pilot program producers (determined acre ranking). New this year all participants must have current soil test on every 25 acres within the program. Sign up is open and we are currently accepting applications.

We stll have a few spots open to participate in our crop modeling programs through the Jerome Fork Watershed Coordinator grant. These programs include Adapt-N, Field Forecasting Tool, and On-Field Ohio!

As you are getting out in those fields don’t forget Ashland SWCD offers an annual manure test to anyone with records of applications.

For more information please contact District Technician Erica White at 419-706-2318 during the governor’s stay at home order or 419-281-7645 when we are back to a normal schedule.