Representative Hoops Applauds H20hio Initiative Funding
State Representative Jim Hoops is applauding the announcement that $30 million in state funding will be available for area farmers.
The funding is part of the state’s H2Ohio initiative and was included in last year’s state budget. The aid will help minimize phosphorus runoff in the region. Farmers in 14 counties, including Auglaize, Defiance, Paulding and Van Wert counties in the 82nd District Hoops represents.
“This is good news for our region,” said Hoops (R-Napoleon). “This is good for Northwest Ohio agriculture and our waterways, and is a good partnership between the state and our local communities.”
Hoops has been closely involved in agriculture and water-related issues, and chaired the House Finance Subcommittee on Agriculture, Development and Natural Resources, which focused on those issues last year during deliberations on the state budget.
According to the Ohio Department of Agriculture, farmers in the following counties will be eligible to seek funding: Allen, Auglaize, Defiance, Fulton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Lucas, Mercer, Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert, Williams, and Wood. They can apply beginning February 1 at their local soil and water conservation districts. The Ohio Department of Agriculture, in partnership with local Soil and Water Conservation Districts and the Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative, will host informational meetings next month to outline the application process, explain the H2Ohio certification process, and answer questions.