Farmers Encouraged to Sign-Up for Lake Erie CREP

For most agricultural producers, activities over the winter months tend to slow down.  This is an opportune time to take a look at your farming operation and determine if there are areas that could benefit from the establishment of one or more conservation practices.

For instance, do you have a ditch or stream running through your farm that needs a filter strip?  Is a particular field prone to wind erosion and stands to benefit from a windbreak?  How about that one area that’s hard to farm because it’s always wet?  Have you considered how FSA’s Lake Erie Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (Lake Erie CREP) might benefit your farming operation and help to protect the environment at the same time?

Lake Erie CREP began with the main objective to improve water quality in all of our rivers, streams, and tributaries within the Lake Erie watershed with a special emphasis on the Blanchard and Tiffin Rivers as important tributaries of the Maumee River.  These conservation practices will target environmentally sensitive areas to reduce sediments and nutrients, prevent water pollution and minimize the risk of flooding and improve the habitat for multiple wildlife species. Continue reading

CRP Cost Share Reminders from the Paulding Farm Service Agency (FSA) Office

The Paulding County Farm Service would like to remind our conservation participants, that once you have successfully completed your CRP practice and gathered all bills, receipts, and seed tags to submit these to FSA for cost share reimbursement. Make sure there is an itemized bill for all components listed on your CRP Conservation Plan. If any of the work was done by yourself, include a bill for work completed, time to complete, and cost.

Participants are advised that starting or installing a practice before approval of the CRP contract is at their own risk. Cost share may be ineligible if the offer is not accepted or if the practice does not meet specifications in the approved Conservation Plan.

Please be advised that this is a cost-share payment program. As a participant, you are willing to share in the expense of improving and conserving natural resources on your land. As such, you may have out-of-pocket expenses. Continue reading

Controlling Slugs and Voles in Cover Crops

From the OSU CORN Newsletter:

By Rachel Cochran, CCA and Paige Garrabrant, Water Quality Extension Associates

Last week, OSU Extension’s Water Quality Team launched their annual webinar series with a two-part webinar on cover crops. The team works closely with producers throughout the Western Lake Erie Basin to implement practices that not only improve growers’ operational efficiencies and profitability, but also to promote soil health and reduce nutrient and sediment loss. Several producers that the team works with have requested more education specifically on cover crops.

The webinar last week focused on cover crops with a handful of different speakers. Tim Reinbott, Director of Field Operations at the University of Missouri’s Agricultural Research Stations, provided listeners with some insight and advice on controlling slugs and voles, which are common in no-till and reduced-till situations. Continue reading

Soil Health Tour 2022 Sites Finalized

 

The 18 in-person and 6 virtual tour stops for the 2022 Soil Health Tour have been finalized and are almost ready to be visited by farmers, conservationists, and soil-lovers around Northwest Ohio, Southeast Michigan, and Northeast Indiana. The tour officially opens Monday, September 19th at 8AM and closes Wednesday, September 28th at 5PM. A wrap-up event will be held Thursday, September 29th at the Paulding County Extension Office from 6-8PM to close out the tour. Register for the September 29th event at go.osu.edu/soilhealthtour.

The flyer with tour site information can be accessed here.

The in-person tour stops are as follows: Continue reading

Save the Date for 2022’s Soil Health Tour!

 

Save the Date! The second annual Soil Health Tour, presented by OSU Extension Paulding County, will be held September 19th-28th, 2022. Visit tour stops showcasing a variety of soil health practices across the region. This year, we have expanded to include tour stops in Northeast Indiana and Southeast Michigan as well as Northwest Ohio. We are also introducing a few virtual tour stops to showcase sites that may be inaccessible to the public or better explained through photos and videos. However you plan to attend, we hope to see you during Tour Week!

Wrap up the Soil Health Tour with Paulding County Extension on Thursday, September 29th, 2022 at the Paulding County Extension Hall. Join us, a guest speaker, and farmers and landowners who provided tour stops for an educational and networking event. Meal will be provided with $10 registration fee. Certified Crop Adviser (CCA) continuing education credits will also be offered at the wrap-up event on September 29th.

Stay tuned for more information as we get closer to the event: go.osu.edu/SoilHealthTour; We can’t wait to see you!

Paulding County To Host Agriculture Breakfast Next Week!

Join OSU Extension’s Water Quality team for a breakfast meeting focused on conservation practices!

We need your input on which types of conservation practices to include in future watershed plans. The practices outlined in these watershed plans will be the first to receive funding once the plans are implemented and grants are secured. The meeting will be held on the Paulding County Fairgrounds in the Youth Leadership Building from 7:30AM – 9:00 AM on Tuesday, April 12th. Breakfast will be provided free of charge, but an RSVP is required. Call 567-344-5016 to register, or email cochran.474@osu.edu.

Click the link below to see an enlarged version of the flyer

Paulding Breakfast Meeting Flyer

 

 

Upcoming Western Lake Erie Basin Conservation Practices Public Input Meeting

Input Meeting Email Flyer – Link to flyer

Join OSU Extension’s Water Quality Associates on Tuesday, February 22nd from 10-11AM for a public input meeting regarding on-farm conservation practices. This webinar is aimed toward farmers in the Western Lake Erie Basin who farm or live near our target watersheds, found on the attached flier. This virtual webinar will allow OSU’s Water Quality team to hear directly from farmers and landowners to guide local watershed planning efforts and funding priorities. What conservation practices do you want to learn more about? Are there practices that you think may work for your farm, but you don’t know where to start? Are there practices you are interested in if additional funding or support becomes available? Join us for an informal discussion to talk about these topics.

Register for this webinar at www.go.osu.edu/inputmeeting, or contact a Water Quality Extension Associate to give your input if you can’t attend the meeting. Contact Paulding County’s WQEA Rachel Cochran, cochran.474@osu.edu, (567) 344-5016, with any questions.

CLEAR30 the first USDA program to offer 30-year Signup

FSA will open signup this summer for CLEAR30, a new pilot program that offers farmers and landowners an opportunity to enroll in a 30-year Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contract. This pilot is available to farmers and landowners with expiring water-quality practice CRP contracts in the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay regions. The program sign-up period is July 6 to Aug. 21, 2020.

The pilot is available in Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Eligible producers must have expiring Clean Lakes, Estuaries, and Rivers (CLEAR) initiative contracts, including continuous CRP Cropland contracts with water-quality practices or marginal pasturelands CRP contracts devoted to riparian buffers, wildlife habitat buffers or wetland buffers. Continue reading

Friday’s Escape to the Forest, August 7

From Kathy Smith

Join us Friday, August 7th for our live webinar on the Great Lakes Early Detection Network App.  Here is your opportunity to learn more about the app, how it is being used in Ohio, and how you can participate.

Help track invasive species using the Great Lakes Early Detection Network (GLEDN) App. Join Kathy Smith, Amy Stone, Marne Titchenell, and Eugene Braig, specialists in forestry, horticulture, wildlife, and aquatic ecology as they share how to use the app to report invasive species.

Register here: go.osu.edu/glednwebinar

Don’t miss out on the Paulding County Twilight Field Day next Tuesday, August 4

Field to Lake – Twilight Open House – Country Evening, Old Sights, New Eyes

The Paulding Soil and Water Conservation District is working in collaboration with Ohio State University Extension of Paulding County and the Conservation Action Project (CAP) to bring you the Field to Lake – Twilight Open House. This program will feature water control drainage structures and provide opportunities to connect with farmers and professionals to learn more about them. Additionally, explore soil health displays, a drainage water management structure model, and learn about available funding for these structures for those that qualify. The Open House will be held on August 4th, 2020, from 6:00-8:00 pm, in the field, across from 22348 Road 178, Oakwood, OH, 45873. Stop in for 15 minutes or stay the full two hours. There will be an option to drive down the lane and observe the drainage control structures while staying in your vehicle if that is more comfortable for participants.

8.5 x 11 Poster Drainage Field Day

Why consider a drainage water management structure? “This new approach to managing drainage is a significant break from the old way of draining excess water from fields, specifically in the Upper Midwest, where tile drainage systems are most common,” says Leonard Binstock, drainage consultant and executive director of the Agriculture Drainage Management Coalition. According to the Natural Resource Conservation Service, these structures can provide both water quality improvement and production benefits. Water quality benefits are derived by minimizing unnecessary tile drainage, reducing the amount of nitrate that leaves farm fields. Controlled drainage systems can also retain water in field areas that could be used for crop production later in the season.

RSVP is requested, but not required- use the QR code or email address below. With the assistance of The Nature Conservancy, there will be a virtual option available after the event for those who can’t attend in person. Information to access the virtual event will be shared on the supporting organizations’ Facebook pages or by registering for the event and choosing the virtual option. Please note that social distancing will be observed at this outdoor event.

Page Drainage Field Day Invite,

Tri Fold Field to Lake Drainage

For more information, contact: Anna Gurney or Patrick Troyer, Paulding Soil & Water Conservation District, 419-399-4771, Paulding@PauldingSWCD.org

The Nature Conservancy Seeks Cover Crop Farmers in the Maumee River Watershed

By:  Stephanie Singer, TNC Western Lake Erie Basin Outreach Education Specialist, Stephanie.Singer@tnc.org,

DEFIANCE, Ohio (June 9th, 2020) – The Nature Conservancy is looking for farmers who are currently utilizing cover crops on their farms in the Maumee River Watershed of the Western Lake Erie Basin.  We are looking for a diverse group of farmers; large acreage, small acreage, corn and soy, small grains, livestock, new and experienced, willing to reach out and share their knowledge and experiences with other farmers in their area.  Selected farmers will be compensated for their time.  If you are interested in being part of this exciting farmer-led outreach project and would like to apply as a Farmer Advocate for Conservation please complete the online application form by using this Link.  Or by contacting Stephanie Singer, Stephanie.Singer@tnc.org, Phone: 419-782-0652. Continue reading