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From l to r, Andrew McDowell, Western Reserve Land Conservancy; Director Boggs; Mr. and Mrs. Jarvis Babcock. REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio – In celebration of Earth Day, Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Robert Boggs Tuesday joined local farmers and community officials in a roundtable discussion at the Babcock farm in Wellington. During the event, he honored the Babcock family for their conservation and preservation efforts.

“The Babcock farm is a true testament to the spirit of Earth Day and the many preservation and conservation efforts of the state,” said Boggs. “This operation is a shining example of what we are moving toward in Ohio – a productive operation that protects as it produces for the masses. By preserving their nearly 950-acre farm, this family is further showing its support of protecting our earth and sustaining agriculture.”

Boggs honored Ohio Farm Bureau member Jarvis Babcock, operator of the Lorain County farm, for his conservation practices, which most recently included preserving its nearly 950 acres through the department’s Clean Ohio Agricultural Easement Purchase Program. Other conservation practices adopted over the years include becoming 100 percent no-till to reduce runoff and erosion, using grassed waterways to prevent gully erosion, and employing precision fertilization to increase soil productivity and reduce water pollution. The farm also uses cover crops to naturally increase soil productivity and compliment the no-till efforts by reducing erosion in the winter months. In 1987 and 2007 Babcock received the “Outstanding Conservation Farmer” award from the Lorain County Soil and Water Conservation District.

The Babcock farm, owned by siblings Jarvis Babcock, Alice Bradley (Boulder, Colorado), and Catherine Leary (Chesterland, Ohio), is one of 117 farms totaling more than 23,000 acres that have been preserved through the state’s Clean Ohio Agricultural Easement Purchase Program. Current program funding will support one last round of farmland easement purchases valued at $3.1 million for 2008. Governor Strickland and the General Assembly are proposing a $400 million bond proposal to renew this and other Clean Ohio efforts.

Earth Day, which began in 1970 as a grassroots effort, has grown into a nationally-recognized observance each year in April as a time to celebrate the environment and assess the work still needed to protect the natural gifts of our planet.