APPLY NOW FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PROGRAM

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 21, 2016 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) announced Friday, November 18, 2016, as the deadline to submit applications for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) in Ohio. 

EQIP is a voluntary conservation program that offers financial and technical assistance to applicants selected for funding who would like to apply conservation practices that benefit both the environment and their agricultural operation.  Producers select to submit an application under one of several different funding categories, including the Western Lake Erie Basin (WLEB) Initiative, the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, organic farming, pollinator habitat development, the Cleveland High Tunnel Initiative, and many others listed on the Ohio NRCS website under “EQIP Application Deadlines.”  The ranking questions for each category, payment rates for conservation practices, and eligibility criteria are also available on-line. 

Agricultural producers, including urban farmers, and non-industrial private forest land owners now have two options for submitting a signed EQIP application, either in person at their local NRCS office or electronically through the NRCS Conservation Client Gateway www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/cgate/ Applications signed and submitted to NRCS by the November 18 deadline will be evaluated for funding this fiscal year. 

Applications for EQIP submitted by entities, such as agricultural producers applying as a corporation, must have a DUNS (Data Universal Numbering System) number and an active SAM (System for Award Management) registration status when applying, a process that may take several weeks.  Applications cannot be processed without this information. Information on obtaining a DUNS number and registering with SAM is posted at www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbill.

Agricultural producers and forest owners may apply for EQIP at any time.  Applications submitted after the November 18 deadline will be considered with all other applications submitted by the next ranking deadline announced by NRCS. 

For more information about EQIP or other technical or financial assistance programs offered by NRCS, please contact your local service center: http://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?agency=nrcs

Cost Share Programs

This is a list of the cost share programs with funding.  These are first come, first serve programs with a set amount of funding for each program.  To find out more about these programs or if you have questions please contact the office @ 419-354-5517.

GLRI NRP- Beaver Creek

TMACOG GLRI- Portage River and Toussaint Creek

Bull Creek

Beaver or Tontagany Creeks


If you are not in one of these watersheds and are interested in cost share, EQIP applications are available in our office.

Join us for our upcoming tour

Welcome Alysia!

Hello, my name is Alysia Harrison and I am the new Farm Bureau Intern working through the Collaborative Look at Evaluation of Available Nutrients II grant. I will be working closely with Lucas, Ottawa, and Wood County Soil and Water Districts to collect and test soil samples from 17 fields throughout Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, and Wood Counties. I will be helping out around all of the offices with various events and projects. I will also be collecting samples as well as conducting 360 SoilScan, Solvita, and leaf tissue tests to test for nutrients including nitrogen and carbon. These test results will then allow us to better educate the farming community as well as the public about how to improve the environment, water quality, and farming practices by reducing nitrogen runoff. I am 19 years old, an Ottawa County resident and a very active 4-H participant. This upcoming fall, I will return to The Ohio State University where I will be entering my second year as an undergraduate agricultural engineering student. I am excited to partake in this opportunity and I enthusiastically look forward to working with the Farm Bureau and Soil and Water Districts of Lucas, Ottawa, and Wood Counties over the duration of this summer.

How Should Wood County Grow?

NEWS RELEASE                                                                                  Contact: David Steiner, Director of Planning
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                            wsteiner@co.wood.oh.us; P: (419) 354-9128

HOW SHOULD WOOD COUNTY GROW?

PLANNING COMMISSION TO HOST FIRST PUBLIC MEETING FOR THE FUTURE LAND USE PLAN PROCESS

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2016 – 5:30 PM TO 7:30 PM
at the Junior Fair Building,  Wood County Fairgrounds
13800 W Poe Rd, Bowling Green, OH

Bowling Green, OH, January 18, 2016 — Residents of Wood County and all other interested persons are invited to express their opinions about the future growth of Wood County and discuss updating the county’s future land use plan at a public workshop being held by the Wood County Planning Commission on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at the Junior Fair Building at the Wood County Fairgrounds, 13800 West Poe Road, in Bowling Green.

The event is designed to engage participants in discussions and identification of opportunities and challenges the county may face over the next 20 years. The event will also include exercises for participants to identify critical areas for protection, reinvestment, and growth on maps of the county.  A fifteen-minute reception and sign-in will be followed by small group work for approximately one and a half hours.  The event will be led by county staff and consultants.

The future land use plan is an official public document adopted by the county that articulates the community’s vision for its future; it serves as a guide for development and preservation recommendations made by the County Planning Commission and zoning decisions made by Wood County Townships.  The county’s existing plan was adopted in 2007, and since that time development trends and regulations have changed. As such, it has been decided that it is time to create a new, clear vision for the future.  

“For this effort to be successful, it is vital that the final plan accurately represents both a sustainable countywide vision and a more detailed vision held by the Townships, so it is important the citizens of Wood County be actively involved in updating their plan from the very beginning,” said Director of the Wood County Planning Commission Dave Steiner.  “We know that the plans of our cities and villages will also have an important role in the decisions made for the unincorporated areas of the county.  That’s why we are reaching out to these communities to be active in the process.”

This meeting is the first in a series of community engagement events that the county will hold in 2016 as it works on the future land use plan.  To extend the participation opportunities for residents and business owners the activities of February 10, 2016 will be posted on the County Planning Commission website through early March. 

For more information, please contact David Steiner or Katie Baltz at (419) 354-9128 or on our website: http://planning.co.wood.oh.us/land-use-plan/

USDA Conservation Programs for 2016 Now Available in Ohio

 Contact Kelly at 419-352-5171 ext. 115 to schedule an appointment
or stop in the office to pick up an application.

COLUMBUS, Jan. 19, 2016 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) now has 2016 Federal conservation program funds available for Ohio farmers and forestland owners.

Farmers and forestland owners may apply for funding under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) at any time throughout the year, but application selections for funding are made at specific times.  The first 2016 application deadline is February 19.

EQIP provides financial assistance for conservation management and structures (practices) and technical assistance to develop a conservation plan.  The conservation plan and practices help agricultural producers and forestland owners improve the natural resources on their property.  These practices also benefit the public by improving water quality, reducing soil erosion, and improving soil health, wildlife habitat, and conserving energy. 

Landowners should make an appointment with their local NRCS office as soon as possible to begin the conservation planning process.  USDA Service Center locations are listed online at http://offices.usda.gov  or in the phone book under Federal Government, U.S. Department of Agriculture.  General program information is available on the NRCS Ohio website at www.oh.nrcs.usda.gov.

Eligible producers who sign up for EQIP may receive a payment based on the statewide average cost for installing planned conservation practices.  Socially disadvantaged, limited resource, and beginning farmers and ranchers are eligible for a higher payment rate.  Veteran farmers who are also new or beginning farmers receive the higher payment rate.

Applications for EQIP submitted by entities, such as farmers applying as a corporation, must register with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR), a process that can take up to 3 weeks.  Information about CCR requirements, including obtaining a Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number, is posted on the NRCS website at www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbill.

Dedicated EQIP funds are available for conservation practices targeting On-Farm Energy, Organic Systems, High Tunnel Systems, Honeybee and other wildlife habitat, as well as several landscape-based initiatives, including:

•         Livestock EQIP – Livestock farmers statewide (includes pastured livestock)

•         Cropland EQIP – Crop farmers statewide EXCEPT those farming in the Western Lake Erie Basin Watershed (future 2016 EQIP funding will be available for crop farmers in this watershed)

•         Forestry EQIP – Private forestland owners statewide

•         Southern Ohio Appalachian EQIP – Pasture operations in Adams, Athens, Coshocton, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Highland, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pike, Scioto, Vinton, and Washington Counties

•         Cerulean Warbler Regional Conservation Partnership Program RCPP (EQIP) – Tree planting on reclaimed mined land in Adams, Athens, Belmont, Carroll, Coshocton, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Hocking, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pike, Ross, Scioto, Tuscarawas, Vinton, and Washington Counties.

•         East Fork Watershed Nutrient Reduction RCPP (EQIP) – Crop and pasture land in portions of Brown, Clermont, Clinton, and Highland Counties

•         Promoting Best Management Practices for Phosphorus RCPP (EQIP) – Crop land in portions of Delaware, Knox, Licking, and Morrow Counties

•         Upper Paint Creek Mississippi River Basin Initiative (EQIP) – Crop, forest, livestock, and pasture operations in Clark, Clinton, Fayette, Greene, and Madison Counties.

Additional EQIP funding will be available in 2016 for other landscape-based initiatives and priority natural resource issues.  NRCS will post announcements of these future 2016 EQIP application ranking deadline dates on the Ohio NRCS website at http://www.oh.nrcs.usda.gov.

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Toussaint Creek Petition Frequently Asked Questions

• Question: I just received a letter today for the Toussaint Creek Petition Project, do I have to pay today?

Answer: No, a final assessment will be made upon completion of the project and will be due at the time or will be attached to the parcels property taxes.

• Question: How many times will I be charged this amount?

Answer: This will be a one time cost.  Future maintenance will generally be assessed at a much lower amount based on work needed.

• Question: Why am I receiving this letter?

Answer: Each parcel owner who is in the Toussaint watershed has land that drains to the Toussaint eventually.  By nature of your location, you are in the watershed and part of the project.

• Question: What is a watershed?

Answer:  A watershed is the area of land where all of the water that falls on to the land drains off and goes to a common outlet or area, in this situation it is the Toussaint. Find out more about watersheds here.

• Question: How was the watershed determined?

Answer: Staff members reviewed Ohio EPA and US Geological watershed boundary maps.  Current ditch maintenance maps and other known drainage maps were also utilized.

• Question: Will equipment be on my property?

Answer: The contractors equipment will only be on the parcels that are directly along the creek during removal of log jams and dead trees.

• Question: What will happen if I don't pay my assessment?

Answer: If you choose to not pay your final assessment, the cost on the final assessment sheet will be added to your property taxes.  It most likely will be spread over a number of property tax collections with interest.

• Question: Statement included in letter: "First years assessment of 10% of the parcels total construction costs will be collected upon completion of the project"

Answer: The 10% that will be collected will be 10% of your total amount due from your parcel(s). As an example if your assessment is $25.00 you will pay an addition $2.50 to the maintenance account that will care for the Toussaint in the future. 

• Question: Can My assessment change?

Answer: The assessment that you received is an estimate at this time, a final assessment will be sent to your legal address after competition of the project, however the cost will never increase from original assessment.

• Question: I am against the project, is there anything I can do to stop the project from continuing?

Answer: Notice was sent to parcels identified as part of the potential project in the fall of 2014.  A public viewing and hearing was held in early 2015.  At those times the public had the opportunity to object to the project.  The Joint Board of Soil and Water Supervisors and now the Joint Board of Commissioners voted to move the project forward.  At this time, you may write a letter of objection to the estimated assessment that you received, to your County Commissioners, prior to January 31, 2016 to be taken into consideration. 

• Question: I don't think my land is in the Toussaint watershed.... OR ...you have my acreage wrong.

Answer: Write a letter of objection to your County Commissioners by January 31, 2016.  Your property may very well not be in the watershed or has an incorrect acreage.  We will review those and make corrections if warranted.

If you have a question that was not answered here, please contact 419-898-1595.