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Farmers in southwest Ohio are finding that by reducing pollution they can produce a new type of crop.

Producers in the Great Miami River Watershed are generating pollution credits by installing practices that curtail nutrient discharge. One credit is equal to one pound of nutrients that are prevented from reaching the river. Municipalities buy the credits which allows them to meet nutrient discharge limits without installing expensive pollution controls.

In the project's first round, more than $87,000 in payments were made to farmers in five counties to establish more environmentally friendly farming practices. Now, the program is offering up to $500,000 to farmers based on the amount of pollution that they can reduce.

"We're looking for bigger and better things," said Dusty Hall, manager of program development for the Miami Conservancy District. He said the majority of projects so far have involved no-till techniques.

Hall said there is a large market for pollution credits that will increase as tighter rules for wastewater treatment plants go into effect over the next two years.

"The wastewater treatment plants are excited that there was such a large scale response (to the project)," he said. He estimates it will take seven to 10 years before researchers will be able to determine if the agricultural pollution controls are paying off.

In the meantime, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of formalizing rules for water quality credit trading programs, a move that both Hall and OFBF believes is premature.

OFBF has sent several letters to the EPA advocating that multiple pilot projects be allowed to proceed to determine which methods work best.

"We're not smart enough just yet to know what is going to work and what isn't going to work," Hall said, concerned that formalized rules could stifle creativity in other pilot projects.

While the program's results are yet to be seen, farmers can still take full advantage of this round of funding.

The deadline to submit project proposals is Dec. 22. Applicants will be notified of chosen projects no later than Feb. 8 and projects may be implemented as soon as the project agreements are executed. Eligible projects should include best management practices that are not currently installed or in contract with another cost-share program.

Selected proposals will require an annual inspection by Soil and Water Conservation District staff, and any funds that are not allocated in the 2006 funding round will be carried over to the next funding round.

For more information contact Hall at 937-223-1271. To read OFBF's comments on the EPA's proposed rules for water quality credit trading, visit www.ofbf.org and click on Ecology of Agriculture then Regulatory Action Center.