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Ohio Farm Bureau has a track record for getting things started. Our history is full of examples where we’ve identified a need and filled it. The list is impressive. Landmark. Producers Livestock. Rural Electric Co-ops. WRFD Radio. And of course our long-time friend and supporter, Nationwide. Along with launching businesses to help farmers, OFBF has helped numerous commodity organizations get their start: associations and special-interest groups that serve defined segments of Ohio agriculture.

One such "start-up" we helped launch in 1997 and continue to support today is the Ohio Livestock Coalition. OLC was conceived following an exhaustive study of the livestock industry in Ohio which, among other things, examined the factors causing a dramatic loss of farm animals in our state. How dramatic? In the 20 years prior to the 1996 study, livestock numbers in Ohio dropped 31 percent. The Ohio Livestock Coalition was created to turn that trend around.

Today, OFBF continues to aggressively support the work of OLC because it’s a Farm Bureau priority to grow the livestock industry in Ohio. Why? Livestock farms are the original "value added" market for Ohio agriculture. Hogs, cattle, sheep, poultry and dairy cows are the processors of our corn, soybeans, pasture and other crops. To be certain, other markets such as fuel or industrial uses are important and will become even more so. But in terms of increasing value and keeping that value in the farmer’s pocket, having animals to feed our crops to is essential to the long-term viability of Ohio’s entire agriculture community.

You might ask why another organization is needed to protect and promote livestock in Ohio. Isn’t that Farm Bureau’s job? It is, but it’s also the job of commodity-specific groups representing the producers of pork, beef, lamb, poultry and dairy products. And it’s the job of groups working on behalf of corn and soybean growers, meat processors and others. OLC is needed to bring together these diverse interests, to coordinate and concentrate individual efforts for the good of the whole.

There are many examples of how that cooperative approach is working. The member organizations of OLC combined their efforts to successfully promote the legislation that transferred livestock regulatory authority from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Ohio Department of Agriculture. OLC’s Livestock Environmental Assurance Program (LEAP) has helped hundreds of livestock producers identify ways to enhance their efforts to protect our state’ s natural resources. The Family Farm Support Fund has contributed resources to fight precedent-setting legal battles. OLC’s Farm Animal Care Commission helps youngsters and adults adopt the latest animal care techniques. And the Environmental Stewardship Awards program has drawn public attention to the commitment of Ohio’s livestock farming families to operate in an economically viable, socially and environmentally responsible fashion.

Unfortunately, even with all these successes, the work of the coalition is not done. That’s because there are other coalitions at work, ones with agendas directly counter to our goal of profitable livestock farming in Ohio. Animal rights extremists, vegetarian activists, environmental zealots and other "anti-groups" have banded together, drawing strength in numbers. They are well organized, well funded, and are incredibly dedicated to their goal of putting livestock farmers out of business. (If you’d like to see just how fanatical some of these people are, be sure to read David White’s editorial in the sidebar of this page.)

These groups are precisely why Farm Bureau conceived the idea and continues to nurture the Ohio Livestock Coalition. Just as our opponents are doing, we have to deliver our message to lawmakers, the courts and the public. And we have a compelling message: Animal agriculture benefits livestock producers, grain growers, local communities and our state’s economy and ecology.

Farm Bureau, and our fellow members of the Ohio Livestock Coalition, have our hands full getting that message out. But it’s a task we chose to start. And it’s one we’re committed to finishing.