SMITHVILLE, Ohio — David Daniels is passionate about keeping Ohio agriculture a strong and viable industry. As director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), he was the guest speaker at last month’s Wayne County Farm Bureau Annual Meeting at Ramseyer’s Pumpkin Patch in Smithville.

“Ohio agriculture is a $105 billion industry,” he said. “That is a big deal. If it had not been for agriculture and the farmers and their families supporting our local businesses, my hometown of Greenfield would have dried up and blown away.”

He admitted that growing up on a crop and livestock farm, he never thought standing ankle-deep in cow manure would look good on a résumé. But when he was asked to consider the job as ODA director, he was honored.

“Governor (John) Kasich wanted someone who understood small agricultural systems and was able to transfer that knowledge to larger systems,” he said.

Daniels said 2012 is proving to be a challenging year for farmers, specifically with lower crop yields, and may force many to stop and think about what they are doing on their farms.

“The governor is concerned about what is going on in the state,” he said. “That is why he signed an Executive Order declaring all 88 counties agricultural disaster areas and instructed state agencies to do what they can to assist farmers. It is going to hit livestock farmers hard three or four months from now, when the cost of feed is going to get expensive.”

Daniels added many people have not lived through a dry spell like the one Ohioans have experienced this summer.

“We will be holding a series of meetings around the state to talk to producers and help them get through this,” he said.

“This is a tough situation, we are doing what we can to make sure whatever resources producers need are available to help them out during these tough times.”

Water quality and livestock diseases were also on his radar during the meeting. Daniels said the ODA and Ohio Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Agency are putting together a program to reduce phosphorus levels in Ohio lakes and rivers.

“Farmers have been doing what they have been asked to do,” he said. “Ohio has the best soils and the best cropland. A hungry world looks at us to feed them; we have to keep that land productive.”

Daniels said Ohio producers should take concerns about the outbreak of H3N2v influenza seriously. He said any negative publicity affects the industry, but producers and consumers alike need to take basic common-sense precautions to avoid any problems.