HAMILTON, Ohio — Visitors can meet chickens, pigs, cows, horses and goats and experience the milking parlor at Butler County Farm Day, being hosted at Double J Farm, 3070 Wehr Road in Hamilton, on May 2 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. They can also view conservation practices, a hydroponic foddering system (see related article), an observation beehive and a wool spinning demonstration.

Butler County extension, Butler County Farm Bureau, the Soil and Water Conservation District and the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) are collaborating to bring back a condensed version of the popular Farm/City Tour.

“It’s an opportunity for people from town to come out and see a working farm and have contact with the animals and see what a working farm is like,” explained Joe Streit, who, with his wife, Janet, and grandson Joshua Crout own and operate Double J Farm.

Beyond seeing the farm and animals, organizers picked Double J because of their conservation practices. Four key practices will be spotlighted.

The Streits have two seasonal high tunnels that extend the growing season for crops, fruits and vegetables, said Kelly Crout, district administrator at Butler Soil and Water Conservation District. “They have cover crops; they are important for soil conservation, trying to reduce erosion of the soil. “The Streits also do pasture management and they have animal waste storage facilities. NRCS helps with EQIP program for funding for that,” Crout added.

“We wanted to bring back into Butler County an event which can help residents understand agriculture. It is Ohio’s No. 1 industry and it is vital to Ohio and the United States.” Cindy Meyer, agriculture and natural resources educator for Butler County extension, hopes it will be a day for Butler County families to enjoy and an opportunity to learn about farm life. “We also wanted Butler County families to see the conservation side of agriculture, and that farmers are looking for ways to conserve our soil and water – it is of utmost importance to them. That is something that we want folks to take away from that day, to see that Ohio farmers are taking steps to conserve our natural resources,” she said.

The organizers said in the news, farmers are sometimes assigned the blame for water and other conservation problems. They want the public to see that farmers are doing their part to conserve natural resources.

For additional information, call 513-887-3722 or visit www.butlerswcd.org