AWARE is proud to partner with the Mahoning County Farm Bureau to begin nutrient management education with residents of the Mill Creek Watershed
The Mahoning County Farm Bureau received $1,500.00 in grant funds from the Ohio County Farm Bureau’s 2016 Water Quality Initiative Grant Program to encourage soil sampling prior to land applying fertilizers and/or nutrients. The “Nutrient Management in the Upper Mill Creek Watershed: What our Soils Can Teach Us” project was one of 19 projects from around the state of Ohio to receive funds. The Ohio EPA lists nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, as one of the top five aquatic life impairments in surface waters. Nutrients, when applied in excess and/or at the wrong time, can enter surface waters during heavy rain events and accelerate the formation of algal blooms. The Mahoning County Farm Bureau and the Alliance for Watershed Action and Resource Education (AWARE) are partnering with the Ohio State University Extension Office, Eastgate Regional Council of Governments, Mahoning County Engineers Office, and Mahoning Soil and Water Conservation District to provide a better understanding of our local soils, what nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) are already in or are lacking in soil, cost savings associated with soil testing prior to fertilizing.
The Mill Creek Watershed is 78.4 square miles,
houses approximately 96,000 residents, and traverses through diverse
landscapes- rural lands in the upper/ headwaters region and urbanized areas in
lower reaches. These diverse watershed land
uses contribute to the nutrient loads affecting Mill Creek's water quality.
This project will show how soil sampling is one of the simplest and cost
effective measure landowners and farmers can perform to ensure they are
protecting water quality and saving money before they begin applying nutrients.
The Mahoning County Farm Bureau along with the
project's collaborators want to provide both agricultural and residential
landowners an educational background on proper nutrient management. Whether it
is a landowner who fertilizes their residential lawn or a farmer who spreads
nutrients across their fields, proper nutrient management is needed to improve
water quality in the Mill Creek Watershed.
