PUTNAM
COUNTY — Last November, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine unveiled a plan his
administration described as “a comprehensive, data-driven water quality
plan to reduce harmful algal booms, improve wastewater infrastructure,
and prevent lead contamination.”
“We have a moral obligation to
preserve and protect our natural resources,” Governor DeWine said late
last year. “Ohio has supported many programs to help farmers reduce
nutrient loss over the years, but the state hasn’t done nearly enough,
nor have previous plans focused enough, on reducing phosphorus runoff
from agriculture. That changes now.”
To that end, the Ohio
Assembly set aside $172 million, $30 million of which was ceded over to
the Ohio Department of Agriculture. The ODA in turn has made those
monies available to producers in 14 counties, including Putnam.
For
Putnam County farmers, the plan — simply called H2Ohio — creates the
opportunity to take the high road, to adopt measures designed to reduce
nutrient runoff, but to do so while mitigating the financial burden
inherent in such action.
For Soil and Water Conservation District
personnel in the affected counties, the response has proven nearly
overwhelming at times, but, above all, satisfying.
“Normally, we
have five producers who come in in a week,” Sarah Rieman with the Putnam
Soil and Water Conservation District, said. “Now, sometimes we have
that many producers coming in in an hour. We are averaging about 10 guys
every day between appointments and walk-ins, maybe 10 to 15 farmers a
day. And we started signing guys up the first week of February.”
As of March 10, Rieman reported her office had signed up over 30,000 acres, encumbering
roughly $2 million of the $30 million the ODA designated for the
program. But what happens if the other 13 counties follow suit? When the
money’s gone, what then? According to Rieman, there’s more where that
came from.
“Once they spend all of that, they can tap into another
$90 million,” she said. “That’s over the course of four years. Up until
March 31, there’s no cut-off on dollars. If you sign up, you’re going
to get funded. We’ve never had a program like that, the government
normally never has a program like that, that there’s so much money that
if you want to participate, you can. We don’t have to turn away anyone.”
The downside for those who have yet to make contact? As Rieman indicated, there is an expiration date.
“By
the end of March, farmers have to make contact with us,” Rieman said.
“We can finish the contracts in early April, but we’re telling guys
March 31.”
Short of that time limit, Rieman assured the program is simply a win all the way around.
“Whether
producers are changing their operation, or they’re already doing the
right thing, now they can get paid for it,” Rieman said. “It’s nice that we can help everyone.”
For more information on H2Ohio, contact the Putnam County Soil and Water Conservation District offices at 419-523-5159