By Jordan Keller
Happy Harvest Season! The deadline for H2Ohio participation in Crop Years 2026-2027 was September 15th, 2025. I am pleased to report that we have enrolled 40 producers with 31,367.8 acres through the Richland SWCD office. This is roughly a 45% increase from initial acreage enrollment numbers in 2021! Approximately 2,800 acres were added on the September 15th deadline, making for a sprint to the finish line.
Next, we will be working with crop advisors and ag retailers to develop our H2Ohio participants 2026/2027 nutrient management plans by uploading soil test data and cropping information onto the MyFarms platform.
I am currently working on wrapping up 2025 H2Ohio practice verifications as we make the transition to the 2026/2027 contracts.
ODA Cover Crop Demonstration Plot
With assistance from ODA and cooperation from a local producer, Richland SWCD will be doing a cover crop demonstration plot after harvest in 2025. We plan on hitting two cover crop seeding windows across an ~25’ x 350’ area. The first seeding window started on Sept. 21. On Sept. 23rd we broadcasted a rye/oat mix.
Between Oct. 4– Nov. 1 we will be broadcasting straight rye. Cover crop rates and seeding dates reference NRCS appendix A. The goal of the demonstration is to gain a better understanding of the overall impact of NRCS cover crop seeding dates across Ohio.
