Review the eligibility requirements to see if this program fits your operation. This program pays $200 per acre per year for 2 years. You DO NOT have to currently be enrolled in H2Ohio to participate in this buffer program.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture(ODA) is offering a new program to incentivize producers to voluntarily enroll cropland prone to flooding and erosion into a working land buffer or filter strip.
The H2Ohio Working Lands Buffer Program encourages producers to convert specific cropland into a buffer growing warm season or cool season grasses, or a forage mix.
April 15, 2024
Eligibility and Specifications:
- Acres converted from cropland or an existing filter strip, hay buffer, or field border with perennial vegetative cover
- Along ditches, perennial streams, and rivers
- An existing filter strip or hay buffer area that has expired from receiving funding through the USDA, ODA, and local grants
- Buffer must be between 20 feet wide minimum and 300 feet wide maximum
- Harvesting the buffer area is encouraged
- Two-year contract (minimum) to maintain a buffer or filter strip for an annual $200 per acre rental payment
Ineligibility:
- The new buffer cannot be installed adjacent to an existing buffer or filter strip
- Filter strips and field borders that were previously meadows, existing pasture, and ditch maintenance right of ways
Maria Goshe is here to work with you to complete your enrollment and answer any of your questions.
If you have any questions or would like to schedule an in-person meeting please reach out to us!
