Annual Tree Sale
Tree Sale Pickup has been moved to Friday March 31, 2023 from 7am to 5pm at the Ross County Service Center

Annual Fish Sale
Free Ag Drone Workshop

Free Ag Drone Workshop
Thursday March 30, 2023 at 12:00 p.m.
Ross County Fairgrounds
344 Fairgrounds Road
Chillicothe, Ohio 45601
As more and more commercial drones are being outfitted for agriculture, the Ross Soil and Water Conservation District announces a free drone workshop and ag drone demonstration on March 30th.
Farmers and the public are invited to see and discuss the capabilities of ag drone technology.
Not only are drones crop dusting, but drones can also apply liquid nutrients and broadcast seeding. Peebles based company Midwest Air will demonstrate their equipment at the workshop. The event is free and open to the public at 12 Noon on March 30th at the Ross County Fairgrounds at 344 Fairgrounds Road.
The Ross Soil and Water Conservation District promotes land use practices that prevent soil erosion and protect water quality. The district’s vision includes promoting innovation. Emerging drone technology may provide solutions to problems that farmers face implementing some conservation practices like cover crops.
The conservation district has been using drones since 2016 primarily for imaging and map making. The district will display its drone equipment plus specialized maps drawn with drone data.
An RSVP is requested. Please call the district at 740-772-1711 extension 3 or email admin@rosscountyswcd.org
The event is scheduled rain or shine and will move inside the multi purpose building in case of bad weather
FFA Career Day T-shirt Logo Design Contest
Ross Soil and Water and Ross County Farm Bureau are hosting Ag Career Day in September 2023. As a response to student interest, we’re sponsoring a contest for students to design a logo for t-shirts to be distributed to all participating students at that event. The student entering the winning design will win a $50 Amazon gift certificate and will receive designer credit printed on the T-shirt!
THEME
The design should be inspired by all the career paths agriculture can offer - engineering and mechanics, all aspects of food science, crop production and livestock raising, research, conservation, forestry, animal health, government administration and more.
DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS
• The logo design should reflect the theme: “the variety of careers related to agriculture”
• The design must be oriented inside a landscape space 8 inches high and 10 inches wide
• The submitted design MUST be black and white - no shading is to be used
• Students should suggest a t-shirt color, but the lettering on the shirts will be either white or black
• The best designs will contain simple, bold and readable text and images
• The design may be submitted as a jpeg digital file or as a hard copy on a single sheet of paper
CONTEST RULES
• One entry per student
• Winner will be selected at the April Board meeting of the Ross Soil and Water Conservation District
• The winning student’s teacher will be notified by email
• The prize will be delivered to the student in person at their high school
• Deadline: All entries must be received by 4:00 p.m. on April 7, 2023
• All designs submitted become the property of the Ross Soil and Water Conservation District
Submit an email entry to:
☐ Include your name, school, and shirt color in the email
☐ Attach the design as a jpeg file
or Submit a paper entry to:
Ross SWCD Administrator
475 Western Ave Suite H
Chillicothe OH 45601
☐ Include your name, school, and shirt color on the hard copy entry
☐ Enclose the hard copy design as a paper drawing on a single sheet of paper

Local Weather Information
Board Meetings
The Ross Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors regular meetings are held at 5:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month at the Ross County Service Center
March 8
April 12
May 10
June 14
July 12
August 9
September 13
October 11
November 8
December 13
Please contact the district to be notified about any special meetings or meetings on a particular topic
Email admin@rosscountyswcd.org or call the district office at 740-772-1711 Extension 3
Ohio Nutrient Applicator Forecast
Use this tool to determine what the risk of runoff will be after application
Ross SWCD is
currently providing
Service by Appointment
Please Call
740-772-1711
and Press 3
or send us an email:
Bob Neal - Administrator
admin@rosscountyswcd.org
JT Flowers - Wildlife/Eng Tech
jtflowers@rosscountyswcd.org
Ben Givens - Ag/Eng Tech
bgivens@rosscountyswcd.org
Tabby Sharp - Urban/Eng Tech
tarnold@rosscountyswcd.org
Greg Rouse - GIS Coordinator
grouse@rosscountyswcd.org
To reach the
Ohio Department of Agriculture
about Agricultural Pollution
Call 614-265-6610
LAEPP
Local Agricultural Easement Purchase Program
The Ross Soil and Water Conservation District is a local sponsor under the Clean Ohio Local Agricultural Easement Purchase Program (LAEPP). This means the Ohio Department of Agriculture Office of Farmland Preservation can partner with Ross County landowners and the Ross Soil and Water Conservation District to permanently preserve Ohio farms. Contact the district for more information or visit the Farmland Preservation website for more information.
Logging Training at Scioto Trails

These "fellers" attended logging training at Scioto Trails. JT Flowers, Ben Givens and Chris Pancake attended the Ohio Forestry Association Master Logging class this week. Master Loggers do a lot to prevent soil erosion during and after a logging operation. Timber owners can file a voluntary Timber Harvest Plan with the Ross SWCD. Contact the District for more information.
Augmented Reality Sandbox at Unioto
Thank you to Unioto Middle School science teachers Olivia Muntz and Esmeralda Kight for inviting the Soil & Water Conservation District to demonstrate principles of topography with the District's Augmented Reality Sandbox. Julie Kyle and Chris Pancake met with students in small groups to review topographical maps and then students designed their own landscapes with the interactive AR Sandbox.



