Article

The first session of The Clermont County Farm Bureau Speaker Series was held at the Cincinnati Nature Center on Thursday, Feb. 17. The series is a sponsored program organized for the benefit of Clermont County Farm Bureau members to support, engage and embrace the agriculture community and industry.

Andy Dickerson, executive director of the Cardinal Land Trust Conservancy, introduced to those in attendance the mission of the Cardinal Land Trust which resides in Milford, Ohio on the property of Valley View Foundation. Cardinal Land Trust is a nationally accredited land trust, one of only six in Ohio. The Cardinal Land Trust received $5 million in funding last year to secure and protect agriculture property.  The mission of the Cardinal Land Trust is to protect land as agricultural, natural and/or open spaces. Dickerson’s discussion focused on ways to preserve our farms with easements and trusts; what land and trust easements are; how they work; how long they last; tax benefits and conservation practices.

Noelle O’Neal, also from the Cardinal Land Trust, followed Dickerson to talk about her role as land manager within the Trust. O’Neal and her team are responsible for the annual monitoring of the lands in conservation and agricultural easements within the Cardinal Land Trust’s properties. She updates the farms on the latest conservation projects and practices, the benefit to the farms, cost of implementation and possible grant sources. 

Lauren Stanula and Nick Hartley of the Cardinal Land Trust were also in attendance. They are managers for the Cardinal Land Trust Bahr Farm, recently purchased properties on the western side of Cincinnati. They also work with Our Harvest cooperative.

Jake Hahn, conservation specialist with Clermont County Soil and Water spoke about farm land use, best practices for controlling erosion and pond construction. He highlighted the use of H2Ohio water conservation practices and that Clermont County Soil and Water District is the lead organization for pollution abatement, working as a resource for the land owner and is not an agency to penalize the land owner but rather supports land owner and conservation practices.  Clermont Country Soil and Water Conservation District should be the first phone call farm owners make if there are questions or problems with land and water issues. 

Closing the evening, Cory Christopher, director of conservation with the Cincinnati Nature Center gave an overview of the cutting edge projects the center is currently working on at Rowe Woods and The Long Branch Farms as well as the potential to support those interested in seeds and equipment for no-till conservation practices.  Growing up on a farm himself, Christopher stressed the point that the Cincinnati Nature Center is aware that farmers need to make a profit, but also how conservation projects and practices help a farm’s bottom line. The Cincinnati Nature Center has developed a prairie grass seed blend for our area and can offer guidance for farms on seed mixes to use and how to plant.  The Cincinnati Nature Center can also be hired for prairie restoration projects.

Lastly, I would like to say that if you have never been to the Cincinnati Nature Center, you should put in on your spring To Do List. It was my first trip out there and I was really struck by the beauty of the place. I am looking forward to hiking out there as soon as the weather breaks.

The Clermont County Farm Bureau will be offering three more sessions of the conservation series at various locations through the county to support our membership and agriculture partners.  Please visit the website and the various links below for more information.

If there are topics that you would like us to include in future talks, please reach out to Clermont County Farm Bureau board trustees Cindy Cassell [email protected] or Renee Koerner [email protected]

Written by Clermont County Board Trustee, Renee Koerner.

References

Clermont County Farm Bureau 

Cardinal Land Conservancy

Clermont County Soil and Water Conservation District