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Farmers seeking to develop plans that manage issues such as manure application or silage leachate may have to wait in line.

Mike Monnin, an environmental engineer for the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), said the demand for Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans (CNMP) is outpacing available staffing and funding.

"We're looking at private sector folks to be able to provide those technical services," he said.

The agency lists 26 individuals and businesses certified to develop CNMPs in Ohio. However, only a handful are based in-state, and Monnin said the agency receives up to 200 requests for the plans per year.

"We're just developing too much of a backlog of being able to get these plans written and the conservation practices installed," he said. "And we're sure that there are a lot of producers out there that are frustrated that we can't get to them as fast as we used to."

Monnin wants to grow the list of Technical Service Providers (TSP) in Ohio that are certified to develop CNMPs. He hopes to draw on people who are already working with producers.

"Right now there are a lot of people that are (Certified Crop Advisors), but they haven't taken the steps to become Technical Service Providers," he said.

Under the program, livestock producers contract with a TSP, rather than NRCS, to develop their nutrient management plan. That producer is then reimbursed by NRCS up to a certain amount.

Monnin said NRCS is working to make its technical resources more accessible to enhance the TSP program.

"We really feel we're offering a lot of information and techniques out there that should hold down the costs of people doing this," he said.

For more information about becoming a TSP, contact Monnin at 614-255-2488 or visit www.ofbf.org and click on Featured Links.