Ottawa Soil and Water Conservation District recently hosted a "Make It and Take It" Rain Barrel Workshop at Schedel Arboretum and Gardens in Elmore this past week. Participants "brought a buddy" and constructed 15 rain barrels to capture runoff from their roofs. Crystal Dymond and Mike Libben, of the Ottawa SWCD, and Jill Bench, from Bench's Greenhouse, were the featured speakers for the evening. 

CSP deadline
Ottawa and Lucas County landowners can still sign up for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) at their local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) office through June 11.

CSP is a voluntary USDA program that rewards producers for maintaining a high level of conservation farming practices, and are willing to adopt additional practices on their land. Farmers who have a record of doing conservation practices like continuous no-till and high residue (mulch-till) farming, regularly soil test their fields, have installed grass filter strips along drainage ditches and streams, and have all soil erosion controlled on their farms are the best applicants.

CSP is a paperwork-intensive program. Applicants will be required to provide detailed records of their crop rotation, tillage practices, fertilizer and manure applications and herbicide and pesticide applications by farm tract. These records along with an on-farm site review by NRCS personnel will be used to rank the operator’s application, and the higher ranking applications will be selected for five-year contracts.

For more information about CSP, including eligibility requirements, visit the county USDA Service Center in Oak Harbor or call 419-898-6431.

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