Let's Get Together & Talk Crap

If you’re a livestock farmer, manure happens. Now, Ashland Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is helping you make the most of it at a December 5 Conservation Chat: Feces from All Species.

The event will take place at the Ohio Theater in Loudonville at 5:30 p.m. Registration is $5 per person or free for attendees and a friend when they register together. After all, talking crap is more fun with your best friend. Pizza and water will be provided, and participants can also purchase pop and other snacks from the concession stand at the theater.

“No one likes to think about manure management, but it’s a reality of life on the farm” said Jane Houin, Ashland SWCD director. “As we wrap up the 2024 calendar year, it’s a great time to think about some ways to improve manure management for next year, especially with all of the cost-share dollars and programs currently available.”

Participants at the chat will lean about the basics of developing a manure management plan (MMP), whether that be an informal, basic MMP or a more formal and detailed comprehensive manure management plan (CNMP)—and they’ll learn more about how having those plan in place can net dollars for their farms.

For example, the statewide expansion of the H2Ohio program into Ashland County earlier this year includes incentives for livestock farmers who develop and implement CNMPs on their farm, starting with $10/acre for CNMP development with the opportunity to enroll to them implement that plan for the next two years for another $10/acre/year.

“We just had tremendous local interest in the H2Ohio statewide expansion from our Ashland County producers this spring, both from our grain farmers and livestock producers,” Houin said. “Not only did we more than double the number of acres initially earmarked for Ashland County, but our livestock producers account for approximately 20 percent of the CNMP enrollments across the statewide expansion area. That really speaks volumes about the commitment of our local farmers to protecting our soil and water resources and being good stewards of the land they farm.”

Kip Studer from the Ohio Department of Agriculture will be one of the speakers who will talk about the CNMP component of the H2Ohio program and what all is involved in CNMP development.

And because talking crap is cool, the event will feature a panel of CNMP writers who can answer the most common questions from producers about what is involved in writing a CNMP, potential costs, common challenges, and potential benefits and cost share opportunities for CNMP development.

Jason Ruhl from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will also talk about cost share opportunities available through NRCS to develop and implement CNMPs as well.

For more information or to RSVP, contact Ashland SWCD Conservation Specialist Katie Eikleberry at 419-281-7645 or by email at keikleberry@ashalndcounty.org