Ashland Farmers Put Nutrient Management Plans to Work

When the state’s H2Ohio program expanded outside of the Western Lake Erie Basin in 2024, Ashland County farmers were ready, with 29 farmers enrolling over 21,000 acres of Ashland County farmland in the program to develop nutrient management plans designed to protect and preserve our local soil and water resources.

Those plans are being finalized as 2024 comes to a close, and as soon as the calendar flips to 2025, producers will start putting those plans to work for the 2025 and 2026 crop season. That’s why Ashland Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) is hosting a breakfast work session for farmers to learn more about the ins and outs of what putting those plans to work before the temperatures warm and farmers hit the field.

The event will take place at the Ashland County Park District office in Ashland at 9 a.m. Registration is open both to those currently enrolled in the H2Ohio program as well as those just interested in learning more about what the program involves and exploring future entrollment. Registration is just  $5 per person or free for  H2Ohio-enrolled farmers. Or, participants can bring a friend for double the knowledge and both can attend for free. Breakfast is included in the registration.

“We just really could not be more proud of the response of our Ashland County farmers who have stepped up and taken voluntary steps to demonstrate their commitment to protecting water quality through nutrient management” said Jane Houin, Ashland SWCD director. “Our farmers did a great job developing their nutrient management plans, and we want to make sure we do our part to equip them with all of the tools they need to make implementation of those plans go as smoothly as possible and work for their farms.”

Participants at the chat will lean more about the record-keeping requirements of implementing their H2Ohio nutrient management plan directly from the Ohio Department of Agriculture staff in charge of the program and verifying compliance of the plan implementations.

We will also have Chris Fenning from MyFarms available to answer questions directly from producers on questions they may have about the MyFarms platform they have used to develop their nutrient management plans and will now be using to document plan implementation. Fenning will also be talking about other resources and cost-share incentives available through the MyFarms platform.

“This is going to be a great opportunity for our H2Ohio-enrolled producers to have first-have access to our state staff and software developers and get their questions answered directly from the people who know this program and software the best,” Houin said. “And it’s also a great opportunity for farmers who missed the initial H2Ohio enrollment to learn more about the program and determine if this program might be a great fit for them when it comes to future enrollment opportunities.

For more information or to RSVP, contact Ashland SWCD Water Quality Specialist Cora at 419-281-7645 or by email at h2ohio@ashlandcounty.org. Registrations can also be made online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/conservation-chat-h2ohio-at-work-tickets-1065576069709