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The fifth annual Ohio Livestock Coalition Meeting and Industry Symposium challenged producers in the area of neighbor relations. Perspectives from farmers and university professors provided suggestions for improving farmer and nonfarm relationships. The meeting was held Feb. 20 at the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

Keynote speaker Paul Lasley, professor of rural sociology at Iowa State University, said changes in animal agriculture production are also causing social changes in the culture of rural America. Historically, rural culture meant farming, which meant livestock, but agriculture is in transition. Now Lasley said he observes two rural cultures, one still dependent on agriculture and the other existing in rural communities but without direct ties to agriculture. Rural communities are developing trends toward weakened social institutions, a decline in civility, and widening gaps between sectors such as rural/urban, newcomers vs. long-time residents, commodity interests, age, income and race.

From a farmer perspective, Lasley offered several suggestions for keeping rural cultures driven by agriculture compatible with rural culture driven by the nonfarm community. Here are a few:

• Visibility – Keep distance between farms and neighbors. Use landscaping such as plants and trees to screen barns. If possible, build farm buildings further from the road.

• Demonstrate good environmental stewardship – Go beyond the minimums and do even more

• Use local services; support the community

• Respect neighbors

• Follow the Golden Rule – Would what I'm doing still be OK if everybody did it?

• Increase dialogue with neighbors through the use of noninflamatory printed materials, informational forums, surveys and questionnaires, neighbor discussion groups and open houses.

Also on the program, Bryan Black, Franklin County farmer, and Tom Price, Delaware County farmer, talked about pro-active measures they have taken in regard to neighbor relations and their suggestions livestock producers should consider to avoid community conflict. Rounding out the program were Jeff Sharp, assistant professor of rural sociology at Ohio State University, whose research has focused on social characteristics of rural communities and their capacity for engaging in community development activities, and OFBF's Director of Community Relations Marilyn Baker, whose presentation said solutions to conflict must strike a balance between being environmentally sound, economically viable and socially acceptable.