H2Ohio Rolls Out to Ashland Farms in April

Farmers in Ashland County have been waiting a long time to be able to take advantage of H2Ohio fundings and programs, but the wait is finally over,

H2Ohio initially rolled out to farmers in the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB) in 2020. The program then expanded the following year to additional counties, including neighboring Richland County, keeping the program close enough for Ashland County farmers to almost touch but still out of reach for the last three years.

However, Governor DeWine’s latest budget allocated funding for a statewide rollout to H2Ohio to farmers, but that rollout is on a much more limited scale. Farmers in the WLEB can enroll acres for numerous practices, including voluntary nutrient management plan development and implementation, overwintering cover crops, subsurface phosphorus placement, manure incorporation & utilization, drainage water management structures and a new equipment purchase assistance component. 

And while it’s definitely good news that H2Ohio agriculture programs are expanding into Ashland County, it’s important to realize the practices available for Ashland County are going to be much more limited. Those limitations come in terms of available practices, available acres county-wide, and available acres per farmer. Ashland SWCD board and staff are definitely excited about the opportunities this expansion provides, but we want to be clear in establishing expectations for our producers.

The expansion of H2Ohio agricultural practices outside of the WLEB is going to be limited to voluntary nutrient management plan development for 2024. That’s not necessarily a bad thing; even in the WLEB, a having a nutrient management plan in place is a foundational requirement to participate in the other practices. It just makes sense when rolling this program out to triple its footprint across the state that we take it in smaller steps to streamline the expansion process.

Another key difference as H2Ohio comes to Ashland County is that there is a strict limit on the number of available acres for each county’s SWCD to enroll in the program. Counties were grouped into tiers based on the number of row crop acres being farmed in their county. Ashland County falls in the 75,000-130,000 acre range Based on our range, we can enroll up to 10,000 acres of cropland into the H2Ohio program’s initial expansion—about 11% of Ashland County’s cropland with those acres being capped out to a maximum of 750 enrolled acres per producer.

The real question you may be asking yourself what’s involved in the H2Ohio program and what do you get in return. Producers will enroll in the program this spring. Enrollment is simple: make an appointment with one of our staff members during the enrollment period. You’ll need an email address unique to you or your farm operation and your field maps. We will help you set up a MyFarms account and import your field maps using your Climate Fieldview login information, your MyJohnDeere login information, or by bringing your field boundaries to our office on a USB drive (if you don’t have digital copies of your field maps, you can get them through the FSA office).

Over the summer you will work with your local retailer, technical service provider (TSP), or SWCD staff to develop a voluntary nutrient management plan (VNMP).  That plan will require current soil tests (within 4 years). Samples can be taken as grid or whole field level. The nutrient levels from those soil tests will be partnered together with your planned crop rotations to determine and plan your nutrient applications for that rotation following the Tr-State Fertilizer Recommendations.

If you have livestock on your farm, you may be required to develop a Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (CNMP) instead of the simpler VNMP. While our office is happy to help you develop a CNMP, these plans are much more time intensive and we do not have the staffing levels to be able to develop a CNMP for every producer that may need one by the end of summer. If you have a CNMP in place, you’re all set. 

If you need a CNMP for H2Ohio participation, we’re suggesting two options: you can hire a TSP to write a CNMP for your operation or you may want to wait and enroll in the NRCS EQIP program to get cost-share assistance for a TSP to write your CNMP for you. The good news is, having a CNMP for your farm opens you up to even more cost share opportunities through NRCS.

Once your VNMP or CNMP is in place and approved, we can initiate the $10/acre cost share for your nutrient management plan development, which will be made in 2 $5/acre payments.

Will you have to change the way you farm or your management practices? No change is required to develop your nutrient management plan. But once that plan is developed, additional funding is available to implement that plan. Rates are $10/acre for flat-rate fields and $15/acre fro grid or zone sampled variable rate fields.

If you want to capitalize on those implementation dollars, you must follow your nutrient management plan and not exceed the Tri-State guidelines. So, if you apply manure to the same field every year or apply a certain rate of fertilizer “whether you need it or not” because “that’s the way I’ve always done it,” then yes, your will most likely need to implement some changes to receive those additional implementation dollars. The good news is, following your plan may save you money on your fertilizer bill and  secure you additional cost share dollars for implementation.

Ready to learn more? Join the Ashland SWCD staff on March 21 for our Conservation Chat: We’re Rooting for You at Valley Vista Farm near Jeromesville to learn more about the H2Ohio program expansion into Ashland County and what the future may hold. We’ll also be covering cost share and technical assistance for cover crop implementation in Ashland County as well. Registration is free when you bring a friend, and dinner is included. RSVP to Katie at 419-281-7645 or by emailing h2ohio@ashlandcounty.org