VNMPs must be submitted by March 31

Voluntary Nutrient Management Plans (VNMP) are due soon in the 10-county expansion area of Governor Mike DeWine’s H2Ohio Initiative. Producers enrolled in H2Ohio need to submit a VNMP by March 31 to apply for the next phase of program incentives.

Approximately 800 producers in the expansion area enrolled more than 600,000 acres of cropland into the H2Ohio program last fall. This represents more than 38% of the cropland in the project area – Crawford, Erie, Huron, Marion, Ottawa, Richland, Sandusky, Seneca, Shelby, and Wyandot counties.

All enrolled producers must submit a completed VNMP, which is the base best management practice (BMP), to their local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) to receive incentive payments before signing up for additional practices in the spring.  A VNMP tells producers where to place fertilizer, how much, and when.

H2Ohio participants in the expansion area are also reminded to submit required documentation if they are enrolled in the overwintering cover crop and conservation crop rotation/small grains practices.

Overwintering cover crops must be maintained until March 15 and producers must provide field maps, seed tags, and seeding dates to their local SWCD to receive incentive payments.

Grains planted for the conservation crop rotation practice must be harvested this coming summer with a cover or double crop established through next winter. Incentive payments for this practice will be paid in spring of 2023.

Producers should contact their local SWCD for more information and to submit documentation.

H2Ohio is Governor DeWine’s initiative to ensure safe and clean water in Ohio. It is a comprehensive, data-driven approach to improving water quality over the long term. H2Ohio focuses on encouraging agricultural best management practices, restoring wetlands, and replacing home septic systems to reduce nutrients that contribute to harmful algal blooms. For more information on the H2Ohio initiative, please visit h2.ohio.gov.

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