By JANE HOUIN
Ohio Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio farmers are using a novel approach to educate consumers about what farm life and production is really like. Through the Farmers Feed US campaign, Ohio commodity groups are joining forces to give consumers the chance to win free groceries for a year. The catch? They watch a fun and informative video about different segments of Ohio’s agricultural industry before they can enter the sweepstakes.

“As a farmer you take care of the land, you take care of your livestock – it’s what’s in your blood,” said Jake Wolfinger, a cattle producer from Lancaster, Ohio and one of the Ohio farmers featured in the campaign. “Just like any mother takes care of her kids – we take care of our livestock with that same passion.”
The 90-day campaign began earlier this summer at www.FarmersFeedUS.org

US.org and if offering three grand prizes of “free groceries for a year.” Upon visiting the site, consumers will be able to register by meeting an Ohio farmer and learning how they produce safe, nutritious and affordable food. Consumers can register with Ohio lamb farmer, Curt Cline, of Athens County daily through the end of the program on Oct. 18.

“As Ohio lamb farmers, we need to educate our consumers about Ohio lamb production,” said Cline, who is also a featured farmer on FarmersFeedUS.org “This is an opportunity for us to share what we produce with Ohio consumers and to let them know we share their values – taking care of our families, taking care of our animals and land, and giving back to our communities.”

The site features lamb beef, dairy, pork, soybean, egg and turkey farmers from across the state, each sharing information about their farm and their family. In addition to guiding visitors through their registration for free groceries for a year, each farmer also offers a brief online tour of their farm.

“We should be proud of how we produce food in the state of Ohio,” Cline said, “and we need to show people how today’s farms operate.”

Over the course of the campaign, consumers throughout the state not only had the opportunity to interact with these and other Ohio farmers at the Ohio State Fair, but they can even follow these farmers on their blogs and Facebook pages. The page also shares fun agricultural facts, with consumers, ranging from statistics on the longest recorded flight of a chicken being 13 seconds to the fact that agriculture employs more than 24 million American workers – about 17 percent of the total U.S. workforce.

“We get a lot of questions about what the lamb checkoff dollars are used for, and in this program, it is truly to educate our consumers about how lamb is produced in Ohio and to drive them to the American Lamb Board website to instruct them on proper preparation of delicious lamb dishes,” stated Roger A. High, executive director of the Ohio Lamb Marketing Program. In fact we are partnering with the American Lamb Board, the national lamb checkoff program for funding for this program.”

The program also features recipes from each of the featured commodities and is designed as a fun and educational tool to connect with agricultural consumers – the hook reeling them in being the opportunity to win a year’s worth of free groceries.

Ohio livestock farmers care

Educational programs like this have the potential of yielding big results come November, when the proposed Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board will be on the Ohio ballot.

“Ohio’s livestock farmers have a long history of excellent animal care and of producing safe, wholesome, high-protein foods for Ohioans,” said Sandy Kuhn, executive director of the Ohio Livestock Coalition. “That’s why a measure to put in place a Board that affirms that history is supported by the tens of thousands of livestock farmers across Ohio.”

The proposed board would have the final authority in establishing accepted livestock care practices in Ohio and is touted as a preemptive strike against threats from animal rights organizations who have vowed to target Ohio with legislation similar to Proposition 2 that was recently passed in California, reshaping the face of confinement animal operations in that state.

“A board of experts in farming, animal care, food safety and animal science is the right body to make Ohio-based decisions that affect our farms and our ability to continue producing safe, local food for Ohioans,” said Kuhn. “If passed, this resolution will allow the people of Ohio to cast their vote in support of Ohio’s livestock community, by passing a ballot measure that protects our family farms and continues the excellent care of the animals we raise.”
Participating Ohio agriculture groups included in the Farmers Feed US campaign are the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, Ohio Livestock Coalition, Ohio Beef Council, Ohio Pork Producers Council, Ohio Sheep and Wool Program (Ohio’s lamb checkoff program), Ohio Soybean Council, Ohio Poultry Association and American Dairy Association – Mideast.