CHARLESTON, W.Va.-- The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a little extra money for Mason and Putnam county farmers who have gone green.

As part of the national Farm Bill, farmers using natural or organic materials are eligible to take part in a cost-sharing program to offset expenses related to "green farming."

"It's an initiative to implement conservation practices," said LaRae Baker, soil conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service for Mason and Putnam counties.

Farmers who are certified organic producers or in the process of transitioning to organic production are eligible to receive between $8 and $350 per acre, depending on their farming practices.

Core practices in the program include: conservation crop rotation, cover crop, nutrient management, pest management, prescribed grazing and forage harvest management.

"Cost wise, it really depends on the practice," Baker said.

Farmers who are using organic or natural practices for pest management are eligible to receive between $20 and $350 an acre. Crop rotation payments range from about $8 to about $50 an acre.

The state does not have an accurate count of how many farmers have transitioned to organic practices, she said.

"We don't have a clue," Baker said. "That's one of the reasons why we're doing this. To try to catch some of those people."

CHARLESTON, W.Va.-- The U.S. Department of Agriculture has a little extra money for Mason and Putnam county farmers who have gone green.

As part of the national Farm Bill, farmers using natural or organic materials are eligible to take part in a cost-sharing program to offset expenses related to "green farming."

"It's an initiative to implement conservation practices," said LaRae Baker, soil conservationist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service for Mason and Putnam counties.

Farmers who are certified organic producers or in the process of transitioning to organic production are eligible to receive between $8 and $350 per acre, depending on their farming practices.

Core practices in the program include: conservation crop rotation, cover crop, nutrient management, pest management, prescribed grazing and forage harvest management.

"Cost wise, it really depends on the practice," Baker said.

Farmers who are using organic or natural practices for pest management are eligible to receive between $20 and $350 an acre. Crop rotation payments range from about $8 to about $50 an acre.

The state does not have an accurate count of how many farmers have transitioned to organic practices, she said.

"We don't have a clue," Baker said. "That's one of the reasons why we're doing this. To try to catch some of those people."

The cost-sharing program is part of the national Farm Bill or Food Conservation and Energy Act, which is updated every five years.

"This is the first year we've actually looked at organic producers," Baker said.

Overall, organic farming continues to serve a small niche market, and has otherwise been underserved, she said.

"It's not a group of people we normally we get to work with," she said.

Friday is the deadline to apply for the cost-sharing program.

The original deadline for the program was May 29, but the USDA received only one application for the program, Baker said.

Applications for the cost-sharing program are available at the USDA offices in Point Pleasant or Cross Lanes. Applications are also available online at www.wv.nrcs.usda.gov.

For more information, call the USDA office in Point Pleasant at 304-675-2020.

Reach Veronica Nett at veroni...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5113.