NEWARK, Ohio — Licking County Soil & Water Conservation District and the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District are offering a cost share program for landowners to seed cover crops.
Long-term use of cover crops can increase crop yields, reduce fertilizer inputs, improve soil health and decrease water runoff. Different cover crop species and mixes are available to address specific needs such as controlling erosion, recycling nutrients, fixing nitrogen, reducing compaction, managing soil moisture and producing forage.
Last year in Licking County, cover crop cost share producers planted more than 1,100 acres of cover crops and kept more than 1,500 tons of soil from eroding into our streams, 1,400 pounds of phosphorous on the land and 2,900 pounds of nitrogen out of the waterways.
The deadline to apply for cost share is July 2. Applications will be ranked using MWCD criteria. Qualifying row crop producers will be reimbursed at $12 per acre, with a cap of 200 approved acres per producer.
For additional information and a printable application, visit www.lickingSWCD.com or call 740-670-5330. Landowners may also apply in-person at the Licking Soil & Water office, 771 E. Main Street, Suite 100, Newark, Ohio 43055.
— Licking County Soil & Water Conservation District