WASHINGTON, D.C. — The farm bill, water quality and regulatory burdens were issues most of the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF) county presidents who traveled to Washington wanted to talk about with their federal legislators. There were also other issues specific to certain counties.

“This is the 67th annual county Farm Bureau presidents’ trip from Ohio to Washington, D.C.,” said Steve Hirsch, OFBF president. “It is of great value for us to get our leaders here so they can talk to their legislators, look them in the eye and tell them how what happens in Washington, D.C., affects what they do on their farm, in their community, their business.”

Tim Hesselbrock, president of the Butler County Farm Bureau, said regulations are a problem. Too often they actually exceed what was originally intended when a law was written. Also, trade was a concern of his.

“We need fair trade bills that will help our economy grow, not only agriculture but all parts of the economy,” Hesselbrock added.

Dennis Heyob of Hamilton County said his county wants a farm bill approved so farmers will have five years of policy they know they can depend upon.

“Also, since Cincinnati is a river town, we’re interested in making sure that the Corps of Engineers takes care of the locks and dams and upgrades the waterways system. Cincinnati is a major grain export terminal, as well as a fertilizer import terminal, so we want to make sure the locks and dams are upgraded,” he explained.

Scott Chalfin, Sandusky County president, said the possibility of regulations in the Lake Erie watershed was a big concern in his area.

“We are stressing to our officials that we really don’t want regulations put on us,” he said. “We are already trying to do the things necessary to clean our watershed in terms of how we fertilize, putting it on at the right time, putting the right amounts on, doing soil sampling.”

Immigration reform was an area of interest to farmers in Lorain County, said county President Ron Pickworth. “In Lorain County we have a diverse farm market,” he noted. “We have some large dairies and nurseries that get their labor force from Mexico and other places.

“These workers are not seasonal, a lot of them are year-round workers. Most of the bills that come through just discuss seasonal workers.”

Elaine Conger, president of Huron County, northern, said they were having an issue with the Norwalk Bypass, State Route 20 – which, after 14 years, might be resolved by granting farmers permits to use the bypass.

“It is a restricted bypass so you don’t see the signs about no farm machinery allowed on the bypass until you’re past the exit,” she said. “That means that our farm machinery has to go through downtown Norwalk.”

Bill Findley, president from Carroll County, and Steve Quillen, Tuscarawas County, had concerns about environmental activists who are afraid hydraulic fracturing will be of harm. Both said it is a proven, safe technology.

Findley had worked in the oil and gas industry for more that 30 years and he said he never saw a problem with fracking. “These folks need to be educated how safe this is, and it has been proven, we’ve been fracking over 50 years, we started in the 1950s,” he said. “That was vertical, this is horizontal, but it is the same process.

“Another hot topic is the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and their jurisdiction and what they try to impose upon us,” he said. “I understand we’re entrusted with this soil and air and we’ve got to be good stewards. However, we’ve got to do it cost-effectively. They cleaned up diesel fuel, but now  we’re paying $1 more per gallon.”

“We’ll also be talking water quality issues,” Quillen added. “All farmers should understand that this issue affects everybody, not just those in distressed watersheds, in St. Mary’s and Lake Erie. As they deal with these areas, those rules are going to involve everybody, in Ohio and nationally.”