SWCD aerial seeding guarantees a crop will be seeded

Watch for the yellow airplanes tentatively starting Tuesday, Sept. 4 to start dropping seed as part of the Holmes SWCD aerial cover crop program. The goal of the program is to control erosion on corn silage and soybean ground by having a crop (oats, rye or barley) growing over the winter months to keep soil in place. Keeping soil in place also reduces nutrients from getting into waterways, which causes algae to form and degrade water quality.

Depending on the weather, farmers sometimes have a hard time getting a cover crop sown before the growing season shuts down. Aerial seeding takes the management out of the equation and guarantees a crop will be seeded. Through a cooperative work agreement with the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District and the Ohio Department of Agriculture, cost-share is available to some participants this year in the 18-county MWCD area, based on a scoresheet that prioritized acres most likely to erode.

Fisher Ag Service is contracted to provide the service and will fly out of the Holmes County Airport. Approximately 2,300 acres will be seeded aerially, and another 2,300 acres will be drilled later this fall under this program. Holmes SWCD will bring about $65,000 in cost-share to farmers for this conservation practice.

The plane is only dropping seed; no herbicides or pesticides are used as part of the program. The pilots fly low over the fields several times for good seed coverage. Fisher Ag Service should be able to complete the program within one to two days if the weather cooperates.

For information call Holmes SWCD at 330-674-2811 ext. 3.