INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Producers in three Indiana watersheds have the opportunity to get funding and technical advice from the state to improve the water quality in those watersheds.

The watersheds are Silver Creek in the northeastern part of the state, Eagle Creek in central Indiana and Ell Creek, in the southwest. The deadline for producers to apply for the National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI) is April 19.

The initiative uses money from the USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program to provide funding to producers who voluntarily improve their property by such measures as adding cover crops, filter strips and grass waterways. Funding and technical advice to producers will be administered by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office in Indiana.

The amount of funding producers may receive depends on the practice or practices they choose to implement, said Roger Kult, Indiana’s acting state conservationist. This year, Indiana will have $940,000 in funding, he said.

Watersheds chosen for the program are required to be on a list of impaired water bodies as identified by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM), Kult noted. The watersheds have acreage considered highly erodible, according to the NRCS. Watersheds included on IDEM’s list are impaired due to pollution from excess nutrients, NRCS stated.

The signup period that ends April 19 is the only one scheduled for 2013, and Kult doesn’t know if there will be another next year.

“We know that this year we have the funds to do this, that we have a program,” he said. “Next year, our funding could be zero or it could be $1.5 million; we don’t know. Funding for the program is determined annually.”

The watersheds were chosen with input from an NRCS State Technical Committee, which includes commodity groups and other stakeholders, and various state agencies and partners, Kult said.

“The National Water Quality Initiative is an opportunity to target farm bill funds to small watersheds, to try to saturate the watershed with conservation,” said Jill Reinhart, assistant state conservationist for farm bill programs.

“We have worked with our partners to focus these funds in areas where we can really make a difference in water quality. The NWQI gives producers another tool to adopt sustainable farming practices, while protecting wildlife habitat and water quality.”

Silver Creek watershed is a part of the Eel watershed and is in Fulton, Kosciusko, Miami and Wabash counties. Eagle Creek, in the Upper White River watershed, is in Boone, Hendricks and Marion counties. Ell Creek is in the Patoka watershed and in Dubois County.

Hoosier producers are active in using various conservation methods, Kult said. For example, this year Indiana will lead the nation in cover crop acreage, he added. Last year, Maryland was No. 1 and Indiana, second. Indiana was also ranked No. 1 in 2011.

“In Indiana, this is all done on a voluntary basis,” he said. “These are business-based decisions that are good for the bottom line. There are so many exciting things going on in Indiana now. It’s a great place to be.”

Producers located in the watersheds who are interested in applying for the NWQI should contact their local NRCS office. For more information, visit www.in.usda.gov