By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

CELINA, Ohio — Folks living in northeastern Ohio take pride in Grand Lake St. Marys. For many generations this 13,000-acre lake has been a boater’s and fisher’s paradise.

But the death sentence label given to this lake because of algal toxins has residents in the region in an uproar. Toxins in the lake are to blame for many becoming sick after being in the water. Above all, the algae in this lake has torpedoed the local tourism economy, as people have been warned not to enter the water or to eat fish taken from it.

On May 6 officials with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Natural Resources attempted to treat the lake with alum, a chemical that is supposed to starve the algae. But the test is only being done on a portion of the lake, not the entire body of water. Even experts in the area are uncertain the added chemical is the answer to this problem.
Who’s to blame? Many say the problem stems from phosphorous in manure that storms wash off of nearby farms. That accusation has one farmer taking some quick action.

“We’re going to make an impact on the environment, and the use of cover crops is the way to go,” said Mercer County farmer Jeff Rasawehr. “My contention is if you can get the ionization of the soil back to a healthy state with a good root system, you can get the soil back to health.”
There is no guesswork on Rasawehr’s part. He has performed his own study of cover crops and even taken regular soil and water runoff samples from his acreage and says he’s found negligible traces of phosphorous or any other particulates from his fields. He states the runoff is clean and near drinking quality, with negligible particulate matter in the samples.

“Right now we have runoff and water discharge from farms that is getting back into the Grand Lake St. Marys watershed,” he said. “Cover crops can alleviate this problem. The nutrients will hold in the soil and the water discharge will be negligible.”

His organic method of cover-cropping is winning over neighbors and many are believers that his cover crop and no-till methods hold an answer to ending the toxic nutrient runoff that has plagued Grand Lake St. Marys and even Lake Erie. Rasawehr, 46, farms 2,300 acres of corn, beans, wheat and hay. He has increased his use of cover crops such as red clobber and peas to rejuvenate and restore the soil.

“Cover crops should be planted for four or five years to see the benefits that include richer, less compacted soil, decreased erosion and water retention in the soil,” he said. “These methods will pay off financially in the long run.”
According to Rasawehr, planting winter cover crops is one tool to help lessen nutrient and soil runoff, speeding up the transition from conventional tillage to no-till in the process.

Last year eight Mercer County farmers split $18,000 in grant money to plant winter cover crops as a way to help transition to no-till farming. Rasawehr was one of the farmers who received funds. “It’s expensive to plant cover crops, so the grant helps,” he said, “but the residual positives we’ve been seeing in ensuing years makes it worth it.”

Rasawehr has been planting red clover as a winter cover crop on his land for the past 15 years. He will continue planting the crop because he noticed spring-planted corn and soybeans sown in those cover fields produced higher yields over the years.

But there’s a long way to go before the practices become common. By Rasawehr’s count, more than 16 farmers in the county are using the methods.
This was the fourth cover crop grant these local farmers have obtained this year, with help from Mercer County Ohio State University extension educator Jim Hoorman. He was hired a year ago to help farmers with nutrient management issues.

In recent years, Hoorman has helped farmers plant more than 2,100 acres of cover crops in the Grand Lake Watershed in an attempt at improving water quality in the area. “I’m confident that this is the way of the future,” Rasawehr said.

According to Rasawehr and extension specialists in the area, cover crops provide benefits for farmers by reducing soil compaction, storing nutrients and soaking up excess water. Cover crops, they say, can increase the yield of cash crops by improving the soil quality and nutrients. Cover crops reduce nutrient and pesticide runoff by 50 percent or more and decrease soil erosion by 90 percent.

And this, Rasawehr said, is the way to go in bringing Grand Lake St. Marys back to life. “Plus, if we can get this soil healed, we can add two-inch water storing capacity by August,” he said. “This would have a great impact on our environment as well as make more money for these farmers.”