From Watershed Coordinator Laura Walker:
Watershed Project Update May 30, 2013
Did you see the Columbus Dispatch article?
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/science/2013/05/26/tracking-phosphorus-fresh-fromthe-farm.html
Or the one in the Toledo Blade? http://www.toledoblade.com/State/2013/05/28/Ohioofficials-target-rivers-to-stem-algae-blooms.html
Did you wonder, “Why aren’t they doing that in the Grand Lake St. Marys watershed?” The answer is, “We are!!!” Our stations are not as old at the ones in Putnam County. In fact, they are just getting started. It will take at least five years to form data that can be considered influential to farming practices.
At this time three Grand Lake St. Marys farms are working to create a baseline of data. A Wabash River watershed farmer is quoted in the below news release. Other farmers in the Grand Lake St. Marys or Wabash River watersheds have the opportunity to make an application to work with Agriculture Research Service (ARS) to complete an edge-of-field water quality monitoring stations. They can make the application through the Environmental Quality Incentive Program. The deadline to make this application is June 14. It is recommended farmers come to their local Soil and Water Conservation District Office well before June 14. This allows time for ARS to determine if the farm has a field fit for the monitoring stations.
Below is the press release from the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS):
Edge-of-Field Water Quality Monitoring Funds Available Apply by June 14
Columbus, May 14, 2013 – Farmers in three Ohio watersheds have an opportunity to conduct edge-of-field water quality monitoring with assistance from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Using the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), NRCS helps farmers purchase monitoring equipment, conduct sample collection and analysis, and implement conservation practices on approved monitoring sites.
Water quality monitoring involves collecting and testing water samples to identify and measure substances in the water. Edge-of-field water quality monitoring samples water from the drainage point of a farm field. Scientists then analyze the water sample to determine the presence and quantity of substances in the water running off the fields. Using information from monitoring allows a farmer to make science-based decisions about which conservation practices to use to minimize nutrient and sediment loss from their fields. Conservationists call this data-dariven decision-making approach “adaptive management.”