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By Natalie Walston

While the snow flew in Washington in early March, 75 Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) county presidents turned up the heat on lawmakers who are preparing to act on a myriad of concerns facing farmers today.

Some of the chief concerns facing agriculture in the Buckeye state are the 2007 Farm Bill, horse slaughter legislation, immigration, energy issues and the estate tax. Many top officials told the presidents that Washington is in a dire situation right now with a rising, multi-trillion dollar debt and more groups asking for federal money.

"The federal government is receiving three times more requests from groups for the next farm bill than it did from the 2002 bill," said Mary Kay Thatcher, AFBF Director of Public Policy.

U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, started his speech to the presidents by saying that groups all want something from Washington during a time when there is a "major problem in this country" because of the national debt.

Voinovich said different areas of the country want a different farm bill.

"But I'm here to fight for Ohio," he said.

The Republican senator and his counterpart, Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown agreed that with the way things are going in Washington, it would be difficult to cut the estate tax.

Brown said he'd consider a plan that would allow anyone earning less than $5 million to be exempt from the tax, although it's likely the government will need to leave the estate tax as is to help ease the deficit.

Ohio Republican Congressman Rep. John Boehner, who is now the House minority leader, also expressed concerns over money.

"There's not as much money (in the federal government's budget) as there was in the past," he said.

Boehner hosted a forum for OFBF, allowing county presidents to talk with members of the House Agriculture Committee, including Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., Rep. Zack Space, D-Ohio, Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio also visited with the county presidents.

Many members voiced their concerns over successful campaigns by the animal rights group the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) to pass several state ballot measures which dictate animal production practices, a tactic which could eventually be used against all livestock farms. Others fear lawmakers will vote in favor of the horse slaughter ban that would stop the slaughter of sick, old and abandoned horses for human consumption overseas.

"Farmers lose the salvage value for their horses," said Knox County President Marilyn Ruprecht.

Overall, the lawmakers who met with OFBF understood the importance of alternative energy to help ease costs for farmers and the rest of America. They're in support of cellulosic ethanol research funding and programs to allow gas stations the opportunity to offer renewable fuels.

Immigration is also a concern among farmers and lawmakers.

"We need a real guest worker program," said Voinovich, who said that billions of dollars could be lost without the talents of many migrant workers.

Caption: Geauga County President Helen Scheuring gets a moment with U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, before an OFBF breakfast for county presidents at the Capitol Hill Club.