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Three Ohio women honored for their work in state’s agriculture
 


By SUSAN MYKRANTZ
Ohio Correspondent

BEXLEY, Ohio — A lifetime of promoting food, farms and fun earned three Ohio women recognition as the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s (ODA) 2014 Women of the Year: Eddie Lou Meimer of Mt. Gilead, Lucille Hastings of Big Prairie and Opal Holfinger of Troy. 
Meimer and Holfinger were awarded by Ohio First Lady Karen W. Kasich and Agriculture Director David T. Daniels during a reception at the Governor’s Residence and Heritage Garden. Hastings was unable to attend because of illness.
“I am pleased to honor these exceptional Ohio women for their role in shaping our state’s most important industry,” said Kasich. “Their leadership and forward-thinking influence have made a remarkable impact not only on their local communities, but also on the state as a whole.”
Meimer is a dairy farmer turned maple syrup producer. She and her family operate Pleiades Maple Products on their farm, producing more than 2,500 gallons of syrup annually. She is responsible for all of the marketing, both retail and bulk, through direct marketing and farmers’ markets.
They market their maple syrup and products at two markets; Westerville in the summer and Worthington, year-round. They do some special markets and recently opened a retail store on the farm.
Over the years, Meimer made time to be involved in the community. She has completed one term on the Farm Service Agency county committee and was reelected for a second term. She has served on various farm market boards and also on the Farmers Market Network Board. She also helped start the Farmers Market Management Network, Inc. (FMMN).
“FMMN works with the ODA food safety division and has written and published a farmers’ market manual,” she said.
She has been a 4-H advisor for more than 20 years and is a member of the Morrow County Extension Advisory Committee. She headed the levy and levy renewal committees to obtain funding for the extension office.
“We now have a fully staffed extension office,” she said. “We need well-staffed extension offices to work with farmers, homemakers, school kids, et cetera. Our committee is also responsible for interviewing new hires at the office.”
Meimer served on the board of the Ohio Jersey Breeders’ Assoc. (OJBA) and was an advisor for the Ohio Junior Jersey Breeders’ Assoc. She received the OJBA’s Pioneer Service Award. She is active in Farm Bureau, having served on her county board as president, and received its Distinguished Service Award; was a delegate to the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation’s (OFBF) annual meeting; and is serving on the state board as the NW Women’s Trustee.
“All of these organizations pertain to agriculture,” Meimer said. “It is important to be involved in groups that support what you do. We need people to take time to work on issues that involve farmers, like water quality, animal welfare and CAUV.”
And when it comes to the role of women in agriculture, she said they have always been involved – they just didn’t get the recognition or respect they deserved.
“Women operate farm machinery, raise livestock and milk cows; they operate and manage farms of all sizes. They do all of this while raising families and managing the household. More and more they are getting involved in the different organizations that support their area of agriculture.”
Meimer noted women often bring a different perspective to issues than men do. She said it is important to come at problems from a different angle. “We now have to advocate for agriculture,” she said. “We need to tell the consumer why we do what we do. We have to regain the public trust.
“I think women do a better job of doing that. We are mothers and grandmothers; we are going to do nothing that would harm our children. We seem to be more comfortable telling our story than some men. With modern technology, it’s easier than ever. Our phones are cameras, we have internet service on them; we have social media.”
Holfinger has been a 4-H advisor for 20 years and an active member of the Ohio Cattlemen’s Assoc. She and her husband fed out about 500-600 head of steers per year on their Miami County farm.
She served on the Ohio Beef Council’s operating committee and was active in OFBF – at the county level, serving as a president, and on the state level, serving as a district trustee as well as treasurer. She was a member of the Ohio Expositions Commission for 10 years, served as chair and was inducted into the Ohio State Fair (OSF) Hall of Fame.
Holfinger said the best part of serving on the expo commission was working with the junior fair board. “They are a talented group of young people,” she said.
She also served on the OSF’s Beef Committee and with the Sheep Department. Holfinger said she not only got to know people from all over Ohio, but had the opportunity to work with other people with the same interests.
Her involvement in Farm Bureau and the expo commission gave her an insight into the political aspects of working with legislators to get things done for agriculture.
“We need to have a friend working for us to get legislation passed that will benefit farmers,” she said. Looking back, she said her involvement in these organizations has been worthwhile.
“You have to have people who are willing to do things,” she said. “You have to make people aware of your organization, what you stand for and what you are trying to achieve. I think women bring a different slant to things.”
Hastings has been actively engaged in agriculture for more than 40 years. She has served on the Ohio Farmland Preservation Advisory Board for more than a decade and chaired the Holmes County Farmland Preservation Task Force.
She chaired the Holmes County Extension Advisory Committee and Extension Support Committees, was a member of the finance committee for OFBF, and a delegate to its annual meeting, and president of Holmes County Farm Bureau. She was member of the Ohio Beef Marketing Committee and is past president of Ohio CowBelles.
When Holmes and Wayne counties suffered a series of barn fires set by arsonists, she helped organize a regional campaign and raised funds to help with the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
Hastings was a library/media center director and school administrator for more than three decades and continues to do consulting work in the library and media field. She has been an advocate for reading and libraries throughout Holmes County, including securing books for the county’s parochial schools in the Plain Community.
She also co-owns and manages the 211-acre family farm where she and her family have raised livestock, hay and grain, maintain a woodlot, rent out horse stalls and have an indoor riding arena. She said it is important for farmers, especially women, to get involved in efforts such as Farmland Preservation.
“I believe that farmers need to conserve the land and share ideas and skills with each other,” she said. “Women are essential to a worthwhile farm operation; they have great ideas, skills and are hard workers.”
3/19/2015