By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER

Ohio Correspondent

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio — A new round of funding is still available to farmers in the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB) for installing conservation practices that benefit the water quality there. But hurry, because Oct. 19 is the deadline to apply for this money.

The funding is through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), as part of a tri-state, five-year $17.5 million program funded by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

“We targeted six watersheds,” said Ed Crawford, WLEB project manager. “We are working to put together a program that will effect a change. We had many different partners involved in this, along with NRCS on the federal side. We were looking at the phosphorous reduction efforts to coincide with what’s happened at Lake Erie with the algal blooms.”

This is the fourth of a five-year program, said Emily Heppner, education and outreach specialist for the Division of Soil and Water. The first year the program focused on traditional conservation practices, but since the passage of Ohio Senate Bill 1 – which addresses agricultural regulations and application of fertilizer – Ohio’s funds have been targeted to livestock facilities.

“For the last two years the priority has been on the animal waste storage structures which help the producers get more in line with the Senate Bill 1 regulations,” Heppner said. “We want to make sure everyone is in compliance and that they have manure storage for the winter.”

Indiana, Michigan and Ohio were involved in the program, Crawford said. In Ohio, the targeted watersheds were: Bad Creek, Upper Swan Creek and Lower Swan Creek; Headwaters Blanchard River; Cedar Creek – Frontal Lake Erie; Flatrock Creek – Auglaize River; South Turkeyfoot Creek; and Rock Creek – Sandusky River.

The grant required a one-to-one match, Crawford said. Each dollar the state received in federal funds required a local match in cash or payment-in-kind. Local partners contributed $28 million to the program.

The partners are doing edge-of-field monitoring and working closely with Heidelberg University and the USDA Agricultural Research Service. By next year they should begin to know how much the situation improved between 2014 and 2019.

How much will the Lake Erie algal blooms be affected? “I know a lot of farmers are taking this serious,” Crawford said. “Many of them are implementing practices that are costing them money out of their pockets.

“I’ve been working in this field for almost 40 years, and it is just when you think you have something figured out it changes. It is not a quick fix. I am hoping we’ll see some positive gains; hopefully, it will make an impact.”

Added Brett Gates of the Ohio Department of Agriculture (which is leading the project): “These are verifiable practices that will reduce phosphorous and nitrogen. There is no specific time frame. This is just one aspect of what is going on in the state.”

Ohio livestock producers located in the WLEB interested in applying for technical and financial assistance to implement these practices should contact their local USDA Service Center immediately.