In honor of the 2010 National Ag Week, the Grand Lake St. Marys/Wabash River Watershed Alliance (GLWWA) is extending a thank you to producers who use best management practices in the watersheds. This area includes north western Darke County. These producers farm in the headwaters of the Wabash River. The Wabash River travels 43 miles through Ohio before traveling through Indiana to the Ohio River and then to the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico.
Best management practices range from grass filter areas to no-till planting to spreading manure according to National Resource Conservation Service recommendations. Producers using these practices know they are doing the best for their land and for the surrounding area, including water quality. The best management practices used by these farmers affect the entire watershed, including the Gulf of Mexico.
In the past year producers in the Grand Lake St. Marys and Wabash River watersheds have installed over 2,000 acres of cover crops, over 710 acres of grass buffers, over 10 acres of wetland area; several covered feed lots, several tile control structures and some exclusion fencing. Producers have voiced their opinion at GLWWA Advisory Board meetings and their voice was heard. The watershed action plan reflects their recommendations. This plan can be found at: ftp://ftp.dnr.state.oh.us/Soil_&_Water_Conservation/WatershedActionPlans/EndorsedPlans/Grand%20Lake%20-%20Wabash/
Producers are welcome to attend the upcoming advanced cover crop education and advisory board meeting on Tuesday, March 23, 2010. This meeting will be held in Burkettsville. To attend, please RSVP to Mercer SWCD, 419-586-3289. Other educational events this year will include a field day on September 2, 2010. This will include information on nutrient management, cover crops, soil characteristics, conservation tillage equipment, improving manure management technology, the dollar value of manure, the Conservation Reserve Program and composting.
As the 2009 National Ag Week comes to an end, and we celebrate National Ag Day on Saturday, the Grand Lake St. Marys/Wabash River Watershed Alliance challenges producers who are feeding the world to take a step back and look at what part of their production could be improved to keep their soil and nutrients as an important economical part of their operation.
For more information on the GLWWA feel free to contact the watershed coordinator, laura.walker@mercercountyohio.org or your local Darke County Soil and Water Conservation District.
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