H2Ohio | USDA-NRCS
H2Ohio Update
Spring and early summer have been an exciting time for H2Ohio in Richland County! Richland Soil & Water Conservation District (Richland SWCD) is happy to report that nine new producers have enrolled in the program this year, representing approximately 5,450 total acres! Enrollment will likely wrap up in the next couple of weeks, so if you are still interested or know someone who might be, talk to us as soon as possible.
In other news, technicians Jordan and Evan have been steadily finishing 2023’s practice verifications, completing field checks, and getting ready to dive into 2024 nutrient management meetings with current participants.
If you are interested in seeing the impact of H2Ohio across the state, tap or click the “H2Ohio Progress Maps” button below to see some fascinating maps developed by the State (this will take you to the main H2Ohio site, scroll down to the “H2Ohio Dashboards on the DataOhio Portal”.
H2Ohio Practice Highlight: Conservation Crop Rotation – Small Grains
Just in the last few weeks, farmers that grow wheat or other winter annuals (like rye or spelts) for grain have been harvesting it. For H2Ohio, farmers are allowed to enroll in a practice called “Conservation Crop Rotations – Small Grains”.
Diversifying crop rotations includes many benefits: increasing soil and crop health, decreasing erosion and pest/disease pressures, covering the soil for longer periods of the year, increasing cash crop yields, and many more. For 2023, H2Ohio producers in Richland County completed about 770 acres of this practice. Here are a few resources for further reading:
USDA-NRCS Update
The United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) helps people help the land. They offer and administer a wide range of voluntary, cost-shared conservation practices for farmers to implement on their land and homestead. Richland SWCD assists USDA-NRCS with technical assistance and some administration.
So far this year, Richland SWCD technicians helped our USDA-NRCS partner with three conservation plans that have the objective of improving soil quality. The three plans encompass about 80 acres of Early Successional Habitat Development, Tree/Shrub Establishment, and Upland Wildlife Habitat Management.
Richland SWCD technicians are available to assist producers interested in programs and practices available in Richland county. Our technicians also assist those who are not or do not want to be enrolled in USDA-NRCS programs but are still interested in related best management practices.