By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — With 7.7 inches of rainfall, Ohio has experienced its wettest April in more than 100 years of record-keeping; the previous record was 6.37 inches set in April 1893.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Soil and Water Resources also noted it was Ohio’s wettest February-April period on record.
“The rains have caused a tremendous hardship on farmers, who are unable to get into the fields to plant or safely apply fertilizer and manures,” said Ted Lozier, chief of the Division of Soil and Water Resources.

The division was getting feedback from county Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) offices, that some of their small livestock operators’ waste and manure holding facilities were getting full. Recognizing that an overflow could have an environmental impact on waterways, the division is offering limited financial assistance to qualifying operators.

“Through bad luck and the terrible weather, they weren’t able to safely apply the manure,” said John Kessler, assistant chief of the division. “So we found a little bit of money to help folks who are really in an emergency; they were having their storage ponds overtop. It was just impossible to land-apply the manure.”
A cost share of up
to $500 may be available to qualifying livestock facilities, Kessler said. The program is targeted toward situations where there are no other immediate options.

 “They could put that towards the cost of transferring that manure to someone’s facility that does have storage capacity, or they can take it to a municipal sewage treatment plant and get their levels down,” Kessler said. “A small- to medium-sized operator may not have the financial resources to deal with the emergency.”

Producers are encouraged to contact their local SWCD office for complete details. Additionally, ODNR’s website is http://ohiodnr.com