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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Labor has always been an issue, mainly because we are a seasonal operation. So that's a challenge finding somebody who only wants to work three months out of a year, sometimes up to six months.
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Mandy Way

Way Farms

Farm Labor Resources
I appreciate the benefit of having a strong voice in my corner. The extras that are included in membership are wonderful, but I'm a member because of the positive impact to my local and state agricultural communities.
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Ernie Welch

Van Wert County Farm Bureau

Strong communities
I see the value and need to be engaged in the community I live in, to be a part of the decision-making process and to volunteer with organizations that help make our community better.
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Matt Aultman

Darke County Farm Bureau

Leadership development
Farm Bureau involvement has taught me how to grow my professional and leadership experience outside of the workforce and how to do that in a community-centric way.
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Jaclyn De Candio

Clark County Farm Bureau

Young Ag Professionals program
With not growing up on a farm, I’d say I was a late bloomer to agriculture. I feel so fortunate that I found the agriculture industry. There are so many opportunities for growth.
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Jenna Gregorich

Coshocton County Farm Bureau

Growing our Generation
Knowing that horticulture is under the agriculture umbrella and having Farm Bureau supporting horticulture like it does the rest of ag is very important.
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Jared Hughes

Groovy Plants Ranch

Groovy Plants Ranch
If it wasn't for Farm Bureau, I personally, along with many others, would not have had the opportunity to meet with our representatives face to face in Washington.
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Austin Heil

Hardin County Farm Bureau

Washington, D.C. Leadership Experience
So many of the issues that OFBF and its members are advocating for are important to all Ohioans. I look at OFBF as an agricultural watchdog advocating for farmers and rural communities across Ohio.
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Mary Smallsreed

Trumbull County Farm Bureau

Advocacy
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