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Drainage issues and concerns will be the focus of a day-long workshop to be hosted by Ohio Farm Bureau on July 15 at the Columbus Marriott Northwest in Dublin. The session will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Each county Farm Bureau will be asked to designate two attendees whose registration will be covered by OFBF. A limited number of additional registrations also will be accepted.

The agenda is in the process of being finalized, according to Larry Gearhardt of the OFBF staff. "We know for a fact that a lot of members have a multitude of concerns and this meeting will help us start narrowing down what the biggest issues are that we need to address, " Gearhardt said. The complete conference agenda will soon be available on the OFBF Web site and will be published in the June 16 issue of Buckeye Farm News.

OFBF staff member Larry Antosch said the conference will incorporate topics gathered from Farm Bureau advisory councils. A recent council discussion guide explained many of the common drainage challenges and is generating a good deal of input to the state office. "There are so many directions this could go, we want to make sure we don’t leave out anything the members are most interested in," Antosch said.

A growing number of member calls have prompted Gearhardt and Antosch to look into various drainage questions for the past couple of years. They anticipate that some of the broad subjects to be covered will include current drainage laws and regulations, political and financial constraints on drainage, new drainage design concepts and emerging issues that could negatively impact water movement. Speakers will discuss the topics from local and state perspectives.

The ultimate goal is to come out of this meeting with a clear understanding of the issues and what specifically Farm Bureau needs to address through the policy development process, according to Antosch and Gearhardt.

Organization directors will soon be discussing with county leaders the process for identifying county Farm Bureau representatives to the conference. Additional registration information is also forthcoming.