The Richland Soil and Water Conservation District has announced the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District Cover Crop Cost Share Program is now accepting applications until July 9.
The Richland Soil and Water Conservation District (Richland SWCD) is pleased to announce the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) Cover Crop Cost Share Program is accepting applications until July 9. The goal of the program is to encourage landowners and farmers to plant cover crops to reduce soil erosion, improve soil health, and increase crop productivity and farm profitability.
Producers who plant cover crops and are accepted in the program will receive a cost share amount of $12 per acre.
In 2023, the MWCD program assisted in getting cover crops planted on 140.73 acres of Richland County farmland.
Items of importance
• The 200-acre cap applies across multiple counties if the landowner is signing up in multiple counties.
• Enrollment is open for those landowners and farmers within the assessment zone. However, any cover crop planted in the watershed of Charles Mill or Pleasant Hill Lakes automatically qualifies for funding with no cap on the acres funded.
• This program cannot be enrolled in another program to receive funding for the same cover crop such as EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program) or H2Ohio.
• There are no exceptions to the United States Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) seedling dates and rates. If a mix is going to be planted, the earliest seeding date of the species within the mix is the date that it must be planted by such as radishes.
• Wheat is allowed and can be harvested.
The cost-share program for livestock exclusion fencing runs in conjunction with two-thirds United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USF&WS) funds and one-third of MWCD funds to pay 100% of actual project costs not to exceed $15,000 per contract. These projects remove livestock access from the streams permanently to allow a buffered riparian area to become established. Applications are accepted year-round for the livestock inclusion fencing program.
Items of importance
• No mowing or grazing of established riparian areas. Invasive plants may be removed.
• Cannot pay for fencing for property lines and roads
• Livestock must be present.
• Least cost alternative for stream crossings and water sources may also be eligible.
• Off-stream livestock watering development projects may also be eligible.
To apply for either program or get more information, contact technician Matt Wallace by calling 419-747-8687 or email [email protected].
Submitted by the Richland Soil and Water Conservation District.
