FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Farmers and landowners in sections of the Upper Maumee River watershed are eligible for cost-share programs designed to reduce nutrient and soil loss.
Six critical areas in Allen County, Ind. – Bullerman Ditch, Black Creek, Bottern Ditch, Marsh Ditch, Sixmile Creek and Trier Ditch – plus Platter Creek in Defiance County, Ohio, have been targeted for the cost-share dollars. The areas were designated as Priority One regions in the watershed’s management plan, approved in December 2014.
The Maumee River is Lake Erie’s largest tributary. The watershed covers nearly 248,000 acres in four counties – Allen and DeKalb in Indiana and Defiance and Paulding in Ohio. The watershed management plan includes a synopsis of problems in the watershed and suggestions for improving water quality.
"We’re getting some conservation on ground where the plan said it needed to occur," said Sharon Partridge, watershed program manager for the Allen County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD). "We hope they look at these dollars as incentive dollars.
"Maybe a person is kind of thinking about it, and knowing we’ll pay up to 75 percent of the cost for somebody to modify their equipment or try best management practices (BMP), they’ll try it."
Practices eligible for cost-share funding in Indiana include cover crops, stream buffers, filter strips, fencing and waste storage facilities. Not every practice is eligible in each of the critical areas. Some practices are time-sensitive; for example, equipment must be purchased and used this fall.
The program will reimburse landowners for 75 percent (90 percent for a comprehensive nutrient management plan) of the cost of the practices, up to a pre-determined payment cap.
Funding comes from Clean Water Act Section 319 grants. Indiana originally had approximately $75,000, though about half has already been allocated.
The grants are distributed by the U.S. EPA to the states, which administer them as they see fit. "We have seen some new participants over the last couple of years, and that’s great," Partridge said. "But we’re not there yet. The (grant) funds are available to all, but are attractive to the smaller farmer or those on the brink of trying something new."
Ohio’s Platter Creek watershed was selected for an agriculture BMP grant because it’s in Defiance County, is primarily agricultural and doesn’t have any urban areas, said Stephanie Singer, watershed coordinator with the county SWCD. The major sources of nutrients are from agriculture and failing septic systems, she noted.
"The county has had a pretty good track record of farmers adopting practices as they’re proposed and shown to work," Singer explained.
Funding for Platter Creek projects comes from the Ohio EPA, which has given the county more than $366,000 in the form of a three-year grant. Practices available for reimbursement include cover crops (overwinter and winter kill), variable rate fertilizer application and saturated buffers. Ohio will reimburse 40-75 percent of the costs, depending on the practice, up to a predetermined maximum amount.
Variable rate fertilizer application encourages more farmers to use soil testing, she noted. "The cost of doing soil testing and hiring specialized equipment to control the fertilizer rate is often outweighed by the reduced cost of fertilizer," Singer said.
Program officials hope to see 6,000 acres of cover crops, 4,000 acres of variable rate fertilizer application, 4,000 acres of gypsum with no-till, 10 grade stabilization structures and three saturated buffers during the grant’s time frame.
"Although these goals are very ambitious for a small watershed over a three-year period, we look forward to seeing measureable water quality and soil improvements when the practices are accomplished," she said.
As in Indiana, some of Ohio’s practices are time-sensitive. Cereal rye is one of the only cover crops that can still be seeded this fall under Natural Resources Conservation Service guidelines. It has a seeding deadline of Nov. 1.
Farmers may apply next year if it’s too late this year to implement a practice, Singer said.
Ohio farmers will be reimbursed for a practice once it’s been implemented and verified by SWCD. Participants must enroll before they begin a practice, and acreage in other cost-share programs for the same practice is not eligible.
In Indiana, the land where the practice is to be used or installed must be in one of the six designated critical areas. For equipment cost-share dollars, a nutrient management plan is required and equipment must be purchased and used in the field in the fall of 2015. Participants must agree to use a high-residue management system for five years.
For information on the Allen County watersheds, contact Partridge at 260-484-5848, ext. 117, or spd2655@gmail.com and for Platter Creek, contact Singer at 419-782-1794 or ssinger@defiance-county.com
