Cover crop sign-up deadline approaching
A Wayne County farmer “plants green” into a standing cover crop of cereal rye. The cover crop will provide soil stability and nutrients for the emerging corn or soybean crops.
Cover crops continue to prove their value in preventing erosion and improving soil health — benefits that can bump productivity and boost profitability.
Each year the Wayne Soil & Water Conservation District coordinates a program funded by the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District that provides funding for ag producers to seed cover crops. This year’s cost share is $12 per acre. There is an overall acreage cap of 175 acres for each producer; however, this cap can be raised if you are located within an MWCD lake watershed. Application forms for this program can be found on Wayne SWCD's website at www.wayneswcd.org/home/agricultural-services/cover-crops or by visiting its office in Wooster.
Along with the application form, soil tests no older than fall 2021 and current FSA Field Maps showing each intended field will be required. Applications must be submitted to Wayne SWCD before the sign-up deadline of July 3.
For more details or to be added to Wayne SWCD's future cover crop program contact list, email or call ag resources coordinator Cody Beale at cbeale@wayneohio.org or 330-263-5376.