Jefferson Co. adds additional dollars for conservation

HOPEDALE, Ohio – Jefferson County collected more than $150,000 in additional funds for conservation practices last month.

A redistribution of conservation funds has helped Jefferson County fund additional producers by way of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. The program provides technical and financial assistance to landowners for the installation of conservation practices.

Originally Jefferson County and every other county in Ohio was allocated $50,000 in EQIP money for 2003, but the figure now stands at $211,369 for county conservation practices.

According to reports, the USDA announced in September that nationally it would reallocate $58.6 million to be used for conservation technical and financial assistance.

The additional funds being distributed to Arkansas, California, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina and Texas come from unused funds previously distributed to the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service state offices, national level reserves, and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program performance hold back.