By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

ENGLEWOOD, Ohio — At the Ohio State Fair last month, the Ohio Livestock Coalition (OLC) named five farmers as recipients of the 2011 Environmental Stewardship Award. The annual honor is presented to family farmers who protect Ohio’s land, air and water quality, and help conserve the state’s natural resources.

This year’s recipients included Tim Stebbins (pork) of Englewood; Rick Moore (sheep) of Cottage Hill Farm in Flushing; Lou Brown (dairy) of Brownhaven Farm in New Bremen; Gene Royer (beef) of Royer Grain and Livestock of Belle Center; and Paul Dahlinghaus (poultry) of New Bremen.

“The Ohio Livestock Coalition commends the winners for demonstrating their unwavering commitment to safeguarding the environment and the communities where they live and work,” said David White, OLC executive director. “Each recipient was chosen for their outstanding efforts to go above and beyond caring for the land, air and water on and off their farms.”

For George and Tim Stebbins, owners and operators of Stebbins Farms, it began in 1971. They were 12 and 16 years old, respectively.
The two got things going with 27 market hogs they purchased as a 4-H project. They kept 13 gilts out of this group and farrowed their first litter of pigs in the spring of 1972.

Today, the family farm consists of a nearly 3,000-head wean-to-finish hog farm and 1,800 acres of crops. The farm has established several soil conservation practices that include installing and maintaining grassed waterways, filter strips for surface runoff from the building sites and grass buffer strips between the fields.

Additionally, the Stebbins follow a strict nutrient management plan and use additives to the hog barns’ manure pit to reduce odor.

The brothers maintain buffer zones between fields where manure is applied and neighboring properties in an effort to be respectful of adjacent property owners. They also follow a good-neighbor plan regarding manure application, which means no manure is applied Friday through Sunday or on holidays. They monitor the weather to find ideal days to apply manure.

Their farm also has a six-acre lake that provides recreation for their family and their neighbors.

“Being environmentally responsible allows us to be comfortable in living and raising our families on the farm,” Tim said. “This also allows us to drink fresh, cool water from our own wells without worries, or go canoeing in the local river of fish in our own pond without concerns.”

Lou Brown of Brownhaven Farm in New Bremen appreciates the recognition of efforts on his dairy farm, as well.

“We take the responsibility of being good stewards of the environment very seriously, particularly because our farm is only three miles from Grand Lake St. Marys,” Brown said. “My family lives on this land, drinks the water and breathes the air, so we have a responsibility to ourselves and to our neighbors to take good care of the environment.”

Brown and his family have planted wide areas of grasses along waterways on the farm, maintaining wetlands and planting cover crops. He uses no-till practices to prevent erosion and recycles nutrient-rich manure from his animals to nourish the crops. He also planted a buffer along wooded areas to encourage wildlife habitat.

“We continue to use the latest technological innovations to improve what we do because we want future generations to inherit not only a well-cared-for farm but also our commitment to environmental stewardship,” Brown said.
The OLC, formed in 1997, is a statewide trade organization consisting of diverse agriculture organizations and individual farmers committed to advancing environmentally friendly, socially responsible and economically viable livestock farming practices.