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To understand agriculture, you must get out in the elements to see it for yourself.

That’s what a group of lawmakers, legislative aides and interns did when they pulled on their boots and jackets on a rainy spring day for an up-close view of Ohio’s livestock and poultry operations. Nearly one-third of Ohio’s General Assembly was represented at the May 15 Legislator Farm Tour, sponsored by the Ohio Livestock Coalition (OLC).

The purpose of the tour was to educate members of Ohio’s General Assembly and Ohio’s congressional delegation about modern livestock and poultry production.

"The tour also demonstrated the importance of the livestock industry to Ohio’s state and national elected officials," said OLC’s Executive Director David White.

He went on to say that if not for the state’s livestock producers, the Buckeye state’s grain farmers would be looking for someplace else to sell their abundant products.

"Ninety-four percent of the meal processed from Ohio soybeans is fed to livestock, and 60 percent of Ohio’s corn goes into livestock feed," he said.

The group stopped at Daylay Egg Farm in Logan County and Maken Bacon Farm in Wyandot County. At both stops, tour attendees were told how the facilities were working to properly manage manure to make their farms more environmentally friendly; in fact, the National Pork Board recently awarded Maken Bacon Farm its Environmental Stewardship Award.

Daylay Egg Farm
Tour participants added another layer of clothing at the company’s egg production facility. To keep airborne diseases such as bird flu at bay, visitors are required to wear protective, paper overalls, hair nets and plastic coverings over their shoes.

General Manager Peter Mumm told tour participants that with more than 2 million birds, manure and nutrient management are high priorities for Daylay. The farm includes two state-of-the-art facilities to compost chicken manure; the compost is then marketed as organic fertilizer.

While the farm employs a variety of ways to be good neighbors in Union and Logan counties, it’s also contributing to the Ohio economy because the farm purchases more than 3 million bushels of corn from central Ohio grain farmers.

The company has recently expanded to include cage-free and organic operations.

Maken Bacon Farm
Brothers Randy and Tom Brown and their families own, operate and manage a 600 sow farrow-to-finish hog farm and 1,200 acres of corn and soybeans in Nevada, Ohio. The family has raised pigs since 1951.

They’ve invested in various forms of technology to make their farm more environmentally friendly. Manure is held in pits under the barns and in one holding pond; the liquid manure is then injected into the fields for fertilization. The Browns planted trees to minimize odors and improve air quality.

The Browns also have filter strips along road ditches and waterways to minimize runoff. In addition, manure hauling and spreading is done away from waterways, wells, ditches and streams.

"We drink water from the same well where the pigs get their water from," said Randy Brown, who is president of the Wyandot County Farm Bureau and also is a newly appointed National Pork Board member.

Tour reaction
Ohio Rep. Jim McGregor, R-Gahanna, said he was impressed with the facilities that he saw on the tour.

"The larger farms are fascinating because they’re not only environmentally responsible, but they’re models of responsibility," McGregor said. He also said, "good people are producing great, affordable food products with environmental integrity."

Rep. Tony Core, R-Rushsylvania, said the tour is a good chance for legislators and staff, particularly those from urban areas, to get out and see the reality of what goes on at farms, rather than just hear anecdotal reports.

Other lawmakers who were on the tour included Reps. Edna Brown, D-Toledo, and Diana Fessler, R-New Carlisle.

Caption: Rep. Edna Brown, D-Toledo, watches egg production at Daylay Egg Farm in Logan County. Photo by Seth Teter