INDIANAPOLIS – Hoosier farmers in the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB) have until mid-December to apply for funds from a program designed to improve water quality in the lake.

Financial assistance is also available through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), which has options for all farmers, including those in several areas of the state and in certain categories.

The deadline is Dec. 17 to apply to the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in the state for both programs. While producers may apply at any time to participate in the programs, NRCS occasionally announces deadlines in order to prioritize requests.

The Tri-State WLEB Collaboration Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) has about $18 million available over five years, said Jill Reinhart, assistant state conservationist - partnerships. The funding will come from NRCS and more than 30 partners. About $5.5 million of the funds will go directly to farmers, she said. The rest will be used for technical assistance, such as working one-on-one with producers, field days, monitoring and outreach.

The assistance is available in Adams, Allen, DeKalb, Noble, Steuben and Wells counties. The program targets the Maumee River watershed.

The program’s goal is to reduce phosphorous loading in Lake Erie, she said. Nutrient runoff from farm fields has been cited as one factor in the presence of harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie in recent years.

The goal is a tri-state goal, Reinhart noted. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is working with point-source entities, such as water treatment plants. “The process through agriculture works more slowly because we’re working with voluntary programs,” she explained.

In 2015, representatives of Ohio, Michigan and Ontario, Canada, agreed to reduce phosphorous loading in Lake Erie by 40 percent by 2025. Indiana didn’t sign the pact, but is working toward a similar goal, only without the time constraint, said Jennifer Thum, deputy director of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture’s division of soil conservation.

“(The problems in Lake Erie) didn’t happen overnight, it can’t be solved overnight,” she stated. “We can grow everything but it’s hard for us to grow soil. This program incentivizes farmers use conservation practices on the ground through voluntary measures, whether it’s cover crops or grass waterways.”

The program will pay for dozens of conservation practices, but the primary focus is on cover crops, reduced tillage and nutrient management, Reinhart said. “We provide a financial incentive for farmers to try practices like cover crops. We hope they find them beneficial even without funding so they will continue to use them. Producers are thinking about their individual farms as a business. They have to weigh sustainability and profitability. We try to present solutions that help with both of those.”

Even though Indiana didn’t sign the Lake Erie phosphorous agreement, Thum said she has some concerns that voluntary practices could become mandatory in the states if the goal of lowering phosphorous loading isn’t met. “Farmers may be more wholeheartedly into using conservation practices if they’re voluntary. I believe you get better quality conservation voluntarily rather than be being told what to do. Farmers in the WLEB farm in a fishbowl. Eyes are always on them.”

Officials may need to look at their messaging for those farmers who haven’t decided to try conservation practices, she said. “Everyone has their own timetable. You watch individuals five-six years ago, and they say they’re not going to do ag conservation. Then they go to Lake Erie and see the algae blooms. Everything starts to click and they want to make changes.”

EQIP is offering funding for a variety of projects and locations, including the Big Pine Watershed RCPP (Benton, Tippecanoe, Warren and White counties) and Big Walnut Creek (Boone, Hendricks and Putnam counties). Assistance is also available for historically underserved farmers, organic producers and for certain energy conservation practices.

EQIP is a voluntary conservation program for producers, NRCS said. The program provides financial and technical assistance for conservation practices that lower soil erosion and sedimentation, create wildlife habitat and improve soil health and water and air quality.

It could take several months for contracts to be awarded for both programs, Reinhart said. The first step in the application process is to contact a district conservationist, she added. To find the nearest conservationist, visit https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/in/contact/local/.