Indiana Agriculture Department Awards Clean Water Indiana Grants

The Indiana State Department of Agriculture-Division of Soil Conservation (ISDA-DSC) and the State Soil Conservation Board (SSCB) have selected the 2011 recipients of the Clean Water Indiana Grants. A total of $573,408 was awarded to all 88 Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) that submitted a grant application to carry out conservation initiatives.

“Our districts play a critical role in improving Indiana’s water quality by communicating about progressive conservation initiatives and delivering opportunities locally throughout the state,” said Lt. Governor Becky Skillman, who serves as Indiana’s secretary of agriculture.

SWCDs received up to $5,000 for projects and initiatives in the following grant categories: Adult Outreach, Education, Cost–Share Demonstrations and Capacity Building. An additional $2,000 was available for partnering with other districts and professional training.

“A good example of Clean Water partnership projects occurred with DeKalb and Steuben SWCDs that utilized a previous grant (Clean Water) to collaborate and partner with a local agribusiness to host an Agronomy Field Day,” said ISDA-DSC Director Jerod Chew. “This event attracted at least 150 farmers and featured field plots on no-till, strip-till and a discussion of other conservation measures. These districts and many others will host similar field days throughout Indiana again in 2011.”

Other Clean Water Indiana Grant projects include:

• Continuation of a watershed technician on staff who will implement a watershed project cost-share program to help reduce sediment and nutrient runoff; • Restoration of stream banks and agricultural land that has been subject to excessive erosion due to extreme weather events; • Addressing the importance of wetlands as a natural filter in protecting the quality of our rivers, lakes and streams; and • Providing cover crop planting incentives to agricultural landowners to help protect the soil surface from rain impact, increase water infiltration therefore decreasing run off and encourage the development of healthier soils as a result of the additional plant organic matter.

For more information on Clean Water Indiana Grants and a complete list of grantees, visit http://www.in.gov/isda/2356.htm.

Source: Inside Indiana Business