Certification & Assessment Programs

Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative

H2Ohio - 2020

Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative

H2Ohio1. Funding for top 10 BMPs to reduce

phosphorus loss from farm fields2. Created by ODA and funded by state of

Ohio budget3. Administered by SWCDs4. Farmers will receive payments after

BMP(s) are completed and farmer is enrolled in OACI Farmer Certification program

OACI Farmer Certification/Assessment1. Voluntary farm field assessment to

determine current conservation levels2. Voluntary certification program helps

identify what farmers have previously done and areas of improvement

3. Created by commodity, conservation and environmental groups with funding from the collective organizations

4. Administered by SWCDs5. Farmers will need to enroll into program in

year 1 of receiving H2Ohio funding

Two Programs: One Objective

Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative

The Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative (OACI) is a first of it’s kind collaborative effort of agricultural, conservation, environmental and researchgroups tasked with galvanizing Ohio farmer’s on-farm nutrient management and conservation decisions.

Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative

Assessment• SWCDs will survey fields, not farmers (although farmers are part of the process).• Pilot survey to be conducted in the Lower Maumee Watershed (HUC8).• OACI will identify 500 fields within HUC8 to be surveyed (expect 375 completed

surveys).• OACI will contract with Iowa Center for Survey Statistics and Methodology

(CSSM) for final survey design.• Survey will be conducted via provided tablet and data collection mobile app.• Data will move from mobile app to cloud at OSU for aggregation and statistical

analyses. Data will be kept confidential.

Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative

AssessmentPractices & Considerations: Questions

• Land Tenure Arrangement

• Crop Rotation

• Soil Test Frequency

• Soil Test Intensity (Composite or Precision)

• Nutrient Recommendations

• Surface or Subsurface Placement (P and N)

• Fixed vs. Variable-rate Placement (P and N)

• Manure application and placement

• Tillage Practice

• Evidence of Erosion

• Cover Crop

Structural

• Blind Inlet

• Surface Inlet Buffers

• Grassed Waterways

• Alternative Ditch Design

(Natural Channel, 2-Stage, etc.)

• Controlled Drainage Structures

• P Filter/Bioreactor

Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative

• Establish a certification program that gives credit to farmers who are already doing a good job

• Help farmers of all conservation levels shine a light on areas that can be improved upon

• Identify education and funding opportunities for farmers to make nutrient management and conservation improvements on their farm

• Farmers must be in the certification system prior to receiving H2Ohio funding year 1 and become certified prior to receiving funding year 2

• Opportunity to partner with your commodity organization’s certification program coupled with ODA’s resources of dollars, programs and SWCDs

Certification

Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative

Certification

• Certification is for individual farms on a whole farm/operation level• Farmers self-report farm information into mobile app (<15% independent audit)• Participants will be evaluated in the following categories: Soil Testing, Nutrient

Application, Nutrient Placement, In-Field Management and Structural Practices• Developed by OACI and data will be privately stored with aggregated information

reported out on a per county/watershed level with no farmer ID involved• Administered by Ohio Federation of SWCDs and can be filled out in your county

office if needed

Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative

CertificationGo to www.OhioACI.org and create an account using an email/password

Add website screenshot

Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative

Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative

Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative

Items needed

Farmer Profile: Year 1 Requirement: www.OhiOACI.org1) # acres farmed in total, broken down by crop and nutrient source applied2) Nutrient recommendation source (Retailer, CCA, farmer, etc…)3) Type of NMP if any at all4) Fertilizer license and date if completed5) Frozen/Snow covered application and if sensitive areas have been located6) Manure storage capacity if applicable7) Current cost share sources (EQIP, CSP, CREP, etc…)

Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative

Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative

Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative

Items neededCertification: Year 2 requirement1) Soil testing frequency (how often) and intensity (sample area)2) How were your manure and or fertilizer recommendations determined? (590,

DLEP, Tri-state, etc…)3) How were your manure and or fertilizer applications made per crop? (surface,

subsurface, split application, etc…)4) If your acres were tilled, how were your acres tilled? (Conventional till, strip till,

no-till, etc…)5) What type of cover cropping was done? (winter kill, overwintering)6) Current adoption of structural practices (DWM structures, grassed waterways,

etc…)

Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative

Certification

• Those not meeting minimum criteria for certification will be able to take their results into their SWCDs and determine programs/funding available to become certified.

• Will be able to compare scores to peers in the same area• Farms meeting certification will have a virtual certificate

included in the app to show SWCD when required and will receive a sign to be posted on-farm if the farmer chooses

• Re-certification will be every 3 years and farmers can try to become certified as often as needed if changes have been made on their farm