By Stephanie Singer, Outreach Education Specialist, The Nature Conservancy, Western Lake Erie Basin Agriculture Project Office, Defiance
Would you like to share your experience with cover crops and soil health with other farmers? If so, please consider applying to be part of an exciting farmer-led outreach project. Complete the online Farmer Advocate for Conservation application here.
60 farmer advocates wanted
The Nature Conservancy will work with multiple partners including the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, American Farmland Trust, National Wildlife Federation, and The Ohio State University to train farmers in the Maumee River watershed to become technical experts and community leaders for sustainable agriculture.
The project will train 60 farmers—20 a year over a three-year period—in the Maumee River watershed to engage another 3,000 farmers in education and outreach activities, which may lead to wider adoption of new best management practices aimed at improving soil health and water quality management at the farm level.
Apply by the end of July
The application window for the first round of advocate selection is open until the end of July. The top 20 candidates will be notified of their acceptance as Farmer Advocates for Conservation in the fall when they will be given a complete schedule of training sessions to begin in January 2021.
This project is funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which will allow farmer advocates to be compensated for their time.
Need more information? Please join us for a lunchtime webinar on June 11 by registering here. You can also email stephanie.singer@tnc.org to learn more.