GET HELP TO MAKE YOUR LAND HEALTHY - Visit us by December 15, 2011!
 

Contact: Christina Coulon, 614-255-2471

COLUMBUS, November 9, 2011—People growing crops or raising animals in Ohio know how important it is to have good, healthy soil and healthy pasture. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) can help keep soil and pasture healthy and help pay for part of the cost of treating the land. An application is needed to start this process.

Every year, the Natural Resources Conservation Service chooses which applications to fund from people who want help with their land. This year, applications received by December 15, 2011, will be chosen for funding for the coming year (2012). There are always more applications than money to fund them all, so it is a good idea to set up an appointment to meet with your local Natural Resources Conservation Service staff as soon as possible if you’d like to apply.

When you meet with the staff to fill out an application, they will listen to what you would like to happen with your land and will work with you to come up with a plan. For example, if you would like healthier pasture for your grazing animals, the Natural Resources Conservation Service staff can help you make a plan that will move animals from one pasture to another on a regular schedule so that the grass can re-grow in the pasture not being used. This is called rotational grazing. Usually fence that can be moved around is needed for temporary pastures used in rotational grazing. The Natural Resources Conservation Service can help pay for a part of that fence.

To pay for part of treating the land with things like rotational grazing, ‘conservation programs’ are used. There are many conservation programs that help with different things. For example, the conservation program called the Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program is used to create places that wildlife need for shelter and food. Other conservation programs help create wetlands (the Wetlands Reserve Program) and protect farmland (the Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program). The main conservation program used to keep soil healthy and water clean on farmland is the Environmental Quality Incentives Program.

To find out more about how you can help keep the land healthy and to apply for funding through conservation programs, make an appointment with your local Natural Resources Conservation Service office. Local offices are listed in the government section of your telephone directory or on-line at www.oh.nrcs.usda.gov/contact . The Natural Resources Conservation Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture.
 

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