Watershed – H2Ohio
This past Spring, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) released the H2Ohio program to counties outside the Maumee Watershed and Western Lake Erie Basin. Originally made available in 2019, Governor Mike DeWine created H2Ohio as a statewide water quality initiative designed to address the various complex issues negatively impacting Ohio’s waterways. The H2Ohio program is designed to reduce nutrient runoff by ultimately incentivizing producers to implement best management practices on the land.
By providing financial incentives, H2Ohio allows eligible producers to enroll their acreage in a Voluntary Nutrient Management Plan (VNMP) and earn a $10/acre incentive for developing their VNMP in 2024. Since this is a two-year program, in 2025 and 2026, producers can earn incentives of $10/acre or $15/acre for implementing the VNMP on their land.
In Warren County, we were initially given an acreage cap of 5,000 acres to be enrolled in H2Ohio. With a large amount of interest from producers in the county, we exceeded that initial cap. Due to the large interest in H2Ohio, ODA allowed for an expansion, which increased the total number of acres allowed. In all, Warren County SWCD helped sign up 14,647.7 acres to 16 different producers. Currently, Warren SWCD is working alongside agricultural retailers such as Sunrise and Nutrien, as well as private retailers, to assist in the creation of voluntary nutrient management plans. Voluntary Nutrient Management Finalized plans are due in December, and we look forward to assisting Warren County producers in implementing H2Ohio on their land in 2025 and 2026.
We hope for additional opportunities within H2Ohio for current and future program producers in 2025 and beyond.
If you missed the sign-up period for H2Ohio, please contact our office to discuss eligibility for future H2Ohio opportunities and to get on our waitlist.
Article provided by the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District. For more information about the Warren County SWCD, visit their website at warrenswcd.com.
