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Two Licking County farms hosted a media tour on Earth Day highlighting how Ohio farmers take steps every day to protect the environment and conserve natural resources.

The tour was coordinated by the Ohio Livestock Coalition (OLC) and featured two award winning livestock operations.

"Farmers work hard and smart to protect the resources entrusted in their care while at the same time ensuring productivity and profitability for their individual farming operation," said OLC Executive Director David White.

Heimerl Farms, near Johnstown, is operated by Jim and Kathy Heimerl and consists of 7,400 sows and 2,600 acres. The farm has grown considerably from 250 acres that Jim’s father started on in the 1940s. The farm now produces 150,000 market hogs at three different sites and contracts with 24 family farms to raise pigs.

The farm received an environmental stewardship award from the OLC and the Ohio Pork Producers Council in 2003 and from the National Pork Board in 2004.

"I think our philosophy should be that it’s a way of life," Jim said about caring for the environment.

The Heimerl’s farming practices include following a Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan (CNMP) to ensure the proper storage, transportation and application of manure and blowing chopped straw on their lagoon to reduce odors.

Jim said that in addition to the responsibility of being a steward of the land, he has an additional incentive to do a good job – neighbors.

"We have to coexist with our neighbors," he said. "We do everything possible to do it right."

He said it is important to keep up the farm’s appearance and use trees to hide barns because people tend to smell with their eyes.

Farmers also have a very practical reason to protect the environment, according to Ron Hatfield, of Hatfield 7 Dairy, which was honored with an environmental stewardship award in 2001.

"It’s very important for farmers to do a good job environmentally because this is how we make a living," he said. "There’s really no reason not to do a good job."

Settled in 1831, the seventh generation farm milks 880 cows on two locations and also closely follows a CNMP.

"There’s more than just loading the manure spreader and going out and spreading it on the field," said Gail Hatfield, who is in charge of the farm’s crop production and manure management.

Lee Hatfield, who is responsible for the animals, said cows are excellent recyclers, and the dairy uses about 1,000 tons of manufacturing by-products every month that would normally end up in landfills.

He said he is concerned that as future generations know less about where their food comes from, more regulations will be based on misconceptions about agriculture.

"A lot of people have no idea that there’s folks out here working real hard to produce food for them," he said.

Caption: Ron Hatfield gives a tour of his dairy to nearly a dozen reporters and industry officials.