Every Tuesday an Ohio Farm Bureau member takes over the Ohio Farm Bureau Instagram for the day to share a day in their life. Check in throughout the day or follow us on Instagram, @OhioFarmBureau, to meet new Ohio farmers and ag professionals every #TakeOverTuesday.

Hello! I am Meredith Harless from for your #TakeOverTuesday! I am the finishing and logistics supervisor at Speyside Cooperage in Jackson County. Each year, it produces and repairs nearly 150,000 oak casks used by the surrounding Speyside Whisky distilleries, as well as distilleries throughout Scotland and the rest of the world. Behind me are the cooling lanes. This is the start of my department and the finishing process where barrels will get their hoops placed on them, drilled, and tested before being placed on trailers to be shipped. One of our wood suppliers is Ed Robbins, who is also a Pike County Farm Bureau member. . . #TakeOverTuesday this week is with Meredith Harless of Speyside Cooperage in Jackson County. Meet Ohio farmers and Farm Bureau members each week for #TakeOverTuesdayOFBF . . #ohio #farm #farmer #farm365 #ag #agriculture #ohiofarm #ohiofarmer #ohioag #ohioagriculture #ohiofarmlife #ohiofarm365 #ohiogram #ohiofarmbureau #discoverohio #farmlife #ohiowhiskey #ohiodistilleries #ohiodistillery #whiskey #whiskeybarrels #ohiowhiskeybarrels #ohiobourbon #bourbonbar #bourbonbarrels #SpeysideCooperage

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Speyside Cooperage has specialized in providing barrels for spirit-making since 1947. The Jackson, Ohio Cooperage began production in May of 2016 and is the first Speyside facility to focus solely on the production of new, charred, white oak barrels for the bourbon industry. Speyside Bourbon Cooperage, Inc. is a subsidiary of Tonnellerie Francois Freres, a global cooperage company. Our aim at Speyside Bourbon Cooperage is to ensure that barrels become a modern spirit-making instrument by combining age-old craftsmanship and state of the art techniques and equipment developed by our research and development department. . . #TakeOverTuesday this week is with Meredith Harless of Speyside Cooperage in Jackson County. Meet Ohio farmers and Farm Bureau members each week for #TakeOverTuesdayOFBF . . #ohio #farm #farmer #farm365 #ag #agriculture #ohiofarm #ohiofarmer #ohioag #ohioagriculture #ohiofarmlife #ohiofarm365 #ohiogram #ohiofarmbureau #discoverohio #farmlife #ohiowhiskey #ohiodistilleries #ohiodistillery #whiskey #whiskeybarrels #ohiowhiskeybarrels #ohiobourbon #bourbonbar #bourbonbarrels #SpeysideCooperage

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Raw pieces of white oak stave are ran through a machine that plane and profile them for best quality barrels. Between 2 shifts, roughly 45,000 pieces are ran through these machines daily. . . #TakeOverTuesday this week is with Meredith Harless of Speyside Cooperage in Jackson County. Meet Ohio farmers and Farm Bureau members each week for #TakeOverTuesdayOFBF . . #ohio #farm #farmer #farm365 #ag #agriculture #ohiofarm #ohiofarmer #ohioag #ohioagriculture #ohiofarmlife #ohiofarm365 #ohiogram #ohiofarmbureau #discoverohio #farmlife #ohiowhiskey #ohiodistilleries #ohiodistillery #whiskey #whiskeybarrels #ohiowhiskeybarrels #ohiobourbon #bourbonbar #bourbonbarrels #SpeysideCooperage

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The planed and profiled staves are used to raise the barrel, this is where the assembly begins. Between 2 shifts, the plant is running between 1100-1200 barrels daily. . . #TakeOverTuesday this week is with Meredith Harless of Speyside Cooperage in Jackson County. Meet Ohio farmers and Farm Bureau members each week for #TakeOverTuesdayOFBF . . #ohio #farm #farmer #farm365 #ag #agriculture #ohiofarm #ohiofarmer #ohioag #ohioagriculture #ohiofarmlife #ohiofarm365 #ohiogram #ohiofarmbureau #discoverohio #farmlife #ohiowhiskey #ohiodistilleries #ohiodistillery #whiskey #whiskeybarrels #ohiowhiskeybarrels #ohiobourbon #bourbonbar #bourbonbarrels #SpeysideCooperage

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Here barrels wait there turn to take a 15 minute trip through a steam tunnel which helps make the wood pliable to form the shape of the barrel. . . #TakeOverTuesday this week is with Meredith Harless of Speyside Cooperage in Jackson County. Meet Ohio farmers and Farm Bureau members each week for #TakeOverTuesdayOFBF . . #ohio #farm #farmer #farm365 #ag #agriculture #ohiofarm #ohiofarmer #ohioag #ohioagriculture #ohiofarmlife #ohiofarm365 #ohiogram #ohiofarmbureau #discoverohio #farmlife #ohiowhiskey #ohiodistilleries #ohiodistillery #whiskey #whiskeybarrels #ohiowhiskeybarrels #ohiobourbon #bourbonbar #bourbonbarrels #SpeysideCooperage

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We do char the inside of the barrels. Char times vary dependent upon customer request and what type of product they are filling their barrels with. . . #TakeOverTuesday this week is with Meredith Harless of Speyside Cooperage in Jackson County. Meet Ohio farmers and Farm Bureau members each week for #TakeOverTuesdayOFBF . . #ohio #farm #farmer #farm365 #ag #agriculture #ohiofarm #ohiofarmer #ohioag #ohioagriculture #ohiofarmlife #ohiofarm365 #ohiogram #ohiofarmbureau #discoverohio #farmlife #ohiowhiskey #ohiodistilleries #ohiodistillery #whiskey #whiskeybarrels #ohiowhiskeybarrels #ohiobourbon #bourbonbar #bourbonbarrels #SpeysideCooperage

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The Jackson, Ohio Cooperage is located at the intersection of State Route 93 and US Route 32, just off US Route 35. We invite you to visit our environmentally friendly plant and see how we make our barrels in Jackson, Ohio. Please contact us today to schedule a visit! (740) 688-2160. . . #TakeOverTuesday this week is with Meredith Harless of Speyside Cooperage in Jackson County. Meet Ohio farmers and Farm Bureau members each week for #TakeOverTuesdayOFBF . . #ohio #farm #farmer #farm365 #ag #agriculture #ohiofarm #ohiofarmer #ohioag #ohioagriculture #ohiofarmlife #ohiofarm365 #ohiogram #ohiofarmbureau #discoverohio #farmlife #ohiowhiskey #ohiodistilleries #ohiodistillery #whiskey #whiskeybarrels #ohiowhiskeybarrels #ohiobourbon #bourbonbar #bourbonbarrels #SpeysideCooperage

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We make almost everything on the barrel in house, including the heads. Heads are made from raw pieces of white oak that are planed, profiled, jointed, and charred also. We make around 1400 sets of heads daily. . . #TakeOverTuesday this week is with Meredith Harless of Speyside Cooperage in Jackson County. Meet Ohio farmers and Farm Bureau members each week for #TakeOverTuesdayOFBF . . #ohio #farm #farmer #farm365 #ag #agriculture #ohiofarm #ohiofarmer #ohioag #ohioagriculture #ohiofarmlife #ohiofarm365 #ohiogram #ohiofarmbureau #discoverohio #farmlife #ohiowhiskey #ohiodistilleries #ohiodistillery #whiskey #whiskeybarrels #ohiowhiskeybarrels #ohiobourbon #bourbonbar #bourbonbarrels #SpeysideCooperage

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The steel hoops come in big rolls which we purchase out of house, however, they are ran through a machine which cuts, punches, and flares them to our specs and are used on our barrels. You can even find an “S” on the rivets to differentiate our barrels from others. . . #TakeOverTuesday this week is with Meredith Harless of Speyside Cooperage in Jackson County. Meet Ohio farmers and Farm Bureau members each week for #TakeOverTuesdayOFBF . . #ohio #farm #farmer #farm365 #ag #agriculture #ohiofarm #ohiofarmer #ohioag #ohioagriculture #ohiofarmlife #ohiofarm365 #ohiogram #ohiofarmbureau #discoverohio #farmlife #ohiowhiskey #ohiodistilleries #ohiodistillery #whiskey #whiskeybarrels #ohiowhiskeybarrels #ohiobourbon #bourbonbar #bourbonbarrels #SpeysideCooperage

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Barrels are drilled either in the bilge or head upon customer request and then filled with a gallon of water and 4-7 pounds of pressure. This helps our inspectors find and repair defects in the barrel. . . #TakeOverTuesday this week is with Meredith Harless of Speyside Cooperage in Jackson County. Meet Ohio farmers and Farm Bureau members each week for #TakeOverTuesdayOFBF . . #ohio #farm #farmer #farm365 #ag #agriculture #ohiofarm #ohiofarmer #ohioag #ohioagriculture #ohiofarmlife #ohiofarm365 #ohiogram #ohiofarmbureau #discoverohio #farmlife #ohiowhiskey #ohiodistilleries #ohiodistillery #whiskey #whiskeybarrels #ohiowhiskeybarrels #ohiobourbon #bourbonbar #bourbonbarrels #SpeysideCooperage

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We take a lot of pride in trying to make the best barrel in the game. Quality, quality, quality! Not only do we want our barrels to look nice, but we want the whiskey that comes out of them to look and taste even better. Thanks for following along today! We hope to see you soon! . . #TakeOverTuesday this week is with Meredith Harless of Speyside Cooperage in Jackson County. Meet Ohio farmers and Farm Bureau members each week for #TakeOverTuesdayOFBF . . #ohio #farm #farmer #farm365 #ag #agriculture #ohiofarm #ohiofarmer #ohioag #ohioagriculture #ohiofarmlife #ohiofarm365 #ohiogram #ohiofarmbureau #discoverohio #farmlife #ohiowhiskey #ohiodistilleries #ohiodistillery #whiskey #whiskeybarrels #ohiowhiskeybarrels #ohiobourbon #bourbonbar #bourbonbarrels #SpeysideCooperage

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Meet other farmers, ag professionals and those interested in Ohio’s farm and food communities through membership supported programming in your county. Contact your local Farm Bureau for more information and join, renew or contribute to Farm Bureau today.

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Kevin Holy

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To grow a network and gain perspective and knowledge in the industry through personal and professional development has been invaluable. Every day I learn and grow.
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Ryanna Tietje

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Matt Aultman

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Farm Bureau is what really got the word out. It’s been one of their goals to get this done.
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I could not have done it without the resources I have found through Farm Bureau.
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Gretchan Francis

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Because we are younger farmers just starting out, Farm Bureau has a lot of good opportunities and resources to help us grow in the future.
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Hannah Kiser

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Through the Select Partner program, we became educated in farm insurance and weren't just selling policies. It became more and more clear why farmers need an advocate like Ohio Farm Bureau.
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Chad Ruhl

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Mary Smallsreed

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