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To address increasing concerns among Farm Bureau members about agricultural drainage, OFBF held a daylong workshop in July.

The conference, titled "Keeping the Water Moving," was intended to begin discussions on what OFBF can do to fix problems with agricultural drainage in Ohio as it relates to both water quantity and water quality.

"Drainage is important for my operation and all of your operations as well as the future of Ohio," said OFBF President Bob Peterson.

The number of calls OFBF has been receiving from members with drainage concerns is increasing, according to Larry Gearhardt, OFBF director of local affairs.

"The hardest thing that I have to do is tell a Farm Bureau member that in order to fix your problem, you have to sue your neighbor," he said.

David Pennington, a lawyer specializing in drainage issues, explained that drainage in Ohio operates under the reasonable use rule. The rule allows for property owners to interfere with the flow of surface water only if the effects are reasonable. He noted "reasonableness" is decided on a case-by-case basis.

"You can do a little harm, but if you do too much you're going to be held liable in damages," he said.

Pennington highlighted several lawsuits in which farmers were successful in applying the reasonable use rule after their fields were flooded by construction projects. He told the group that farmers face a challenge in coming up with the financial resources to take local governments or large developers to court.

"That uneven playing field is a genuine concern," he said.

The program also included panel discussions from county engineers and Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) personnel on the challenges they face with drainage ditch design and maintenance. Michael Boff, with the Defiance SWCD, said the permitting process to clean ditches is complicated and environmental groups want to block maintenance that would damage animal habitat.

"Soil and Water Conservation Districts should be given more credit for their work to help protect and preserve wildlife habitat," he said.

Knowing whether to contact the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency or the Army Corps of Engineers to obtain permits for ditch maintenance projects can also be confusing for landowners, said Larry Antosch, OFBF director of environmental research.

"It's best to call (those agencies)," he said.

Laura Fay, a project reviewer for the Ohio EPA's Division of Surface Water, said the agency wants to improve water quality in ditches in order to fulfill the goals of the Clean Water Act.

"We need to keep our waterways fishable and swimmable," she said.

She said farmers should be compensated when they take land out of production for filter strips and riparian zones.

"What I'm here for is asking you to use best management practices so you can farm and we can have the best water quality possible," she said.

But judging agricultural ditches on their ability to sustain aquatic life is an unfair standard, according to Mark Wilson, president of Land Stewards LLC.

"Let ditches be ditches," he said. "These things are never going to support aquatic life."

Caption: During the conference, vegetable producer John Graf looks through photos taken of his Summit County farm after flooding submerged several acres of sweet corn.