Is your corn in the ground? Is your wheat ready for the bin? Are you prepping for beans yet? Are you just a bit busy right now?

With all this sunshine and the days getting longer you’re still not done? You know there’s hay to mow, hogs to slop, eggs to gather, a garden to put in. … Believe me, we understand you can be more than a little busy this time of year.

Trying to balance the demands of planting, the begininning of harvest on some crops, working livestock and then the routine farm and household chores, there just does not seem to be enough hours in a day!

All of that and you have to remember these FSA program deadlines to boot. Hopefully, you were able to visit your local FSA office before things got “too” hectic to get your enrollement for 2013 DCP and Acre taken care. In case you haven’t, better hurry up and set up a time with your FSA office to “git er done!”

You’ve only got until June 3 to enroll in Acre for this year. You catch a break with DCP and have until Aug. 2 to enroll in DCP (and yes, that’s after the deadline for reporting your crops).

Did you have enough storage space last year for your hay crop? What about your grains? You know we do offer low interest loans with terms of 7, 10 and 12 years to assist with farm storage of saleable commodities. The most common structures are grain bins, hay barns and even cold storage for fruits and vegeatables.

Amounts of up to $500,000 are available and current interst rates range from 1.25 percent for a 7-year term to 2.375 percent for the 12-year term.

If you would like more information, talk to us at the FSA.Speaking of deadlines, if you still have 2012 grain in the bin that is not under contract and need a marketing assistance loan, for the 2012 crop, the last day to apply is May 31 with interest rates being 1.125 percent for this nine-month loan.

The last day to apply for a SURE payment for the 2011 crop year is June 7. And if this isn’t enough to get you to come down and see us, you know crop reporting can be done as soon as you are done with your planting.

Remember the final reporting dates for crop acerage is July 1 for small grains and July 15 for all other crops. Last but not least, the USDA will be conducting a four-week general sign-up for the Conservation Reserve Program, beginning May 20 and ending on June 14.

Currently, about 320,000 acres are enrolled in CRP in Ohio. Producers that are accepted in the signup can receive cost-share assistance to plant long-term, resource-conserving covers and receive an annual rental payment for the length of the contract (10-15 years).

Contracts on approximately 55,000 acres of CRP in Ohio are set to expire on Sept. 30. Producers with expiring contracts or producers with environmentally sensitive land are encouraged to evaluate their options under CRP.So call us and set up up a time to come see us and let us help you. Have a blessed day.

That’s all for now, FSA Andy

That competing interest, Stewart wrote, was difficult to balance because it was difficult to define hard core pornography.

In fact, he noted, “ … perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. “But,” he added in what soon became the most famous line ever composed by any Supreme Court justice, “I know it when I see it … ”

Anything goes

What Stewart might have seen 50 years ago is not what he’d see today. Today, anything — everything — goes; the standard is there is no standard. It’s the same in big money politics and big money business today: anything goes.

A May 7 Washington Post story showcases this no-standards standard. According to the Post, within hours of a “private call arranged by a (Washington, D.C.) consulting firm called Capitol Street” between a “top aide for Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah” and Wall Street “investors,” a “certain form of speculative trading in Humana, the health insurer, jumped.”

More like exploded; trading was “nearly 10 times as much (in) volume as any day in the previous two weeks.”

But, the story went on, “There is no evidence that the trades were in response to the Capitol Hill phone call … ”

What would be evidence that this slimy coincidence was nothing more than just your basic, hard core political corruption — a gun? Maybe pocket-lining lobbyists and back-scratching public servants don’t know everyday corruption when they see it, but I’ll bet you do.

Take Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogarth, two Harvard economists, whose 2010 paper strongly argued that when government spending tops 90 percent of any nation’s Gross Domestic Product, economic growth drops off the table. Their paper contained times, dates and data to prove it. Trouble is, it didn’t prove it.

In fact, three University of Massachusetts economists — one a mere mortal, a graduate student — examined the paper in detail and discovered the Harvard duo had made come critical math errors.

Big mistake

In fact, the errors were fatal. The Harvard paper had claimed that, from 1945 to 2009, any time government debt grew to 90 percent or more of national GDP, economic growth dropped to a negative 0.1 percent.

When the UMass economists did the math correctly, however, the negative number grew an astonishing 22 times, from -0.1 to +2.2 percent, a pretty respectable level in today’s stumbling global economy.

A mistake that size isn’t just big; usually it’s career ending. But the Harvard economists — maybe because they are Harvard economists — couldn’t accept their mistake. Instead of owning up to it, they called the resulting controversy an “academic kerfuffle.”

Kerfuffle or not, it’s not academic.

Several European nations bought into the their prescription and made deep cuts to government spending in hopes of boosting economic growth. Disaster resulted.

Spain, for example, followed the advice two years ago and now sports 27 percent unemployment, its worst in history.

Farm bill

This week, the House and the Senate will make public their working farm bills. Each will feature spending cuts inspired by the math-corrupted Harvard debt-to-GDP study.

The House bill holds an estimated $38 billion in spending cuts ($20 billion in domestic food aid programs alone); the Senate’s $23 billion in cuts.

No member of either committee is expected to ask if the cuts are wise, or even necessary, and none is expected to ask why conservation and domestic food aid programs must be cut in the name of government austerity and economic growth while funding for crop insurance programs will increase.

Maybe no one in Congress knows bad economic theory and, even worse, bad long-term ag policy when they see it.

You do, though. Right?

© 2013 ag comm

This point was driven home to our 16-year-old.

“So Coach handed us this brown ribbon for placing eighth out of nine teams and we’re like ‘Great. This is literally a ribbon for stinking.’”

He laughed when he said it, showing he took it with the hilarity — and equanimity — that continues to prove we brought home the right baby. I have also proudly saved the wine colored ribbon, because I am still a mom.

Hearing this story, a friend relayed that her very athletic son once stashed a second place plaque in his closet, declaring, “Second place is the first loser.” I disagree, but understand this drive is integral to some.

Participation

It’s puzzling on the surface that a society seemingly so bent on giving out participation plaques and ribbons for everything, including showing up and breathing, morphed into a generation of athletes that feel this way.

I once prided myself on how encouraging I was to all young athletes. It was my goal (pun!) to ensure every child felt like a winner. I cannot abide the gasp of disappointment that seems to overcome a crowd when a child fumbles a ball or misses a shot.

While the crowd groaned I could be heard clapping wildly and peppering the air with cheery phrases “nice try!” and “good thought!” were the balm to soothe a disappointed soul.

This lasted until the fateful day when I overhead one young player say “you know you really messed up if Mrs. Seabolt says ‘nice hustle.’” Apparently, I had a “tell.”

As my children have moved through the ranks of competitive athletics it is more difficult to pretend everyone is doing well all of the time. The days of coach referees and no score are behind us now. There are ranks and scores and first and second strings. Most players know all too well where they sit, stand or bat.

I myself have fallen so far from the ranks of cheery good sport as to have had the following exchange with my own child:

Loss

Walking away from a hard lost game, my daughter — always a good sport — said cheerily “4-0. That’s not too bad.”

To this I said, as if seized by the devil himself, “4-0 isn’t too bad, but you lost 7-0.”

As soon as the words left my lips I sucked in my breath as if I could recall the stupidity before it hit her ears. I could not.

I can just hear it now. “I don’t recall the million times my mother told me I was amazing but do recall that she once reminded me of how badly we had lost.” That’s good for at least six weeks of high dollar therapy in adulthood.

Sigh.

The inglorious receipt of a brown ribbon notwithstanding, I still believe in telling all small children “good job” and “nice try.” I believe the road to a lifetime of demanding entitlement is not necessarily paved with a pink participation ribbons earned by everyone present at preschool field day. I believe with all my heart anyone who tries deserve applause.

This is especially true if, like me, you play right flank lawn chair on the sideline sitting team (I’m varsity).

Try

It is said that those who can, do. Those who can’t, drive those who can to games. While there we smile, wave and applaud all the ribbons of every color because we love them for doing — and trying too.

— Margaret Allenwood, 1902

Part II

(See Part I)

Anna Chloe spent her life with a steely determination to accomplish farm and house work. Her somber presence stood in stark contrast to the joyful personality of her husband, Charlie, who saw a good-natured practical joke in nearly every facet of life, just the thought of which made his bright blue eyes sparkle with glee.

When I asked one of Charlie’s contemporaries, a woman who lived to 100, to tell me a bit about my great-grandparents, she brightened as she said, “Oh that Charlie! He was a good one!

She shared dozens of examples of how Charlie had been the life of the party, and every day was a party if he was involved.

A life filled to the brim with sorrow could have worn him down, but instead he chose to lift everyone up.

His parents, William and Laura, had started out together in an Ohio brick farmhouse, once part of the underground railroad. Their firstborn, a beautiful girl named Addie Caroline, was born in 1882, followed by my great-grandfather, John Carl, forever known as Charlie, in 1884.

Move

Early in 1889, a businessman from Pittsburgh visited the family to propose a trade of his builder’s supply shop in Pittsburgh in exchange for their 150 acres in Ohio. The family packed all their worldly possessions, boarded the train, and began life in the city, living near William’s parents, German immigrants who adored their grandchildren.

William’s business sold cement, stone, plaster and other items, using several teams of horses to make deliveries to builders. The business and the family prospered. William was able to purchase the Ohio farm and home of Laura’s parents, building a cottage for summer visits there.

While the family mourned the passing of an 8-month-old baby girl to cholera, their strong faith helped them to accept this loss, and they became involved in their Pittsburgh community.

Addie was blessed with a beautiful singing voice and sang with her father and brother in church and other events. Addie and Charlie sang duets for their grandparents’ 50th wedding anniversary. Joy and laughter was abundant.

Loss

In 1895, a typhoid fever epidemic swept through Pittsburgh.The parents’ concern turned to despair as their beautiful daughter fell ill. The beloved 13-year-old, described by her father as “dear as life itself,” died in December of that year.

Though a fifth baby boy was born three months later, and a thriving business needed his attention, William seemed unable to bear this sorrow. His father died a few months after Addie’s death, and William died a year later at age 38.

Charlie was 12, and firmly believed his father died of a broken heart. The family lost the once-prosperous business, and the two oldest boys were sent back to Ohio with an uncle who had attended the Pittsburgh funeral, earning their keep by working on his farm.

Charlie had lost his cherished sister, his dear grandpa, and his father, and was sent away from his mother and the life they had built.

Their mother would later join them, bringing the caskets of her husband and Addie along on the west-bound train. She planned the Christian re-burial near the Ohio farm William and Laura had purchased when times were good.

Struggling to survive, with five very young, city-raised sons attempting to learn how to farm with unfamiliar horses, Laura was overwhelmed.

Within a year, this young mother had to set sentiment aside as she parted with this farm and home which meant so much, purchasing a seven-acre plot nearby.

Perseverance

Charlie and Harry were able to help their mother thrive with enough produce to eat and some to sell, one dairy cow, several chickens and a pair of work horses to accomplish it all.

This began Charlie’s life-long love of horses paired with his determination to prevail.

But other, less spectacular groups are equally interesting. Vireos, for example, are less brightly colored and usually more difficult to see. Often they are heard before they are seen.

At a glance, vireos resemble warblers, but vireos are duller, heavier and have a stouter bill. The tip of the bill is even slightly hooked for subduing struggling insect prey. Another common trait is that vireos suspend their nests from the forks of small branches or twigs.

But it’s not a hanging basket like an oriole nest, it’s simply a suspended cup, usually woven with fine plant fibers and spider silk.

Vireo nests

Find such a cup and you’ve found a vireo nest. The red-eyed vireo is the most common and widespread member of the vireo family. It’s abundant in eastern deciduous forests.

At times I sense that a walk through the woods is a journey through a series of never ending red-eye territories. Males sing from the tree tops and are often difficult to see well. Red-eyed vireos are olive-green above with a gray crown, dark eye line, white eyebrow, and red iris.

But red-eyed vireos are most easily detected by ear. Males sing incessantly, sometimes for three to four minutes without a break.Preacher bird. The song consists of short, repetitive conversational phrases. For this reason, it is sometimes called the “preacher bird.”

The yellow-throated vireo also occupies woodland habitats, but it is typically less common. It, too, is difficult to see because it stays high in the trees, but when it appears, its bright yellow throat and breast and double wing bars are distinctive. The yellow-throated’s voice is superficially similar to a red-eye’s.

It sings short, double-noted, repetitious phrases, but the pauses between phrases are longer, and the quality of the sound is courser. The yellow-throated vireo sings a more leisurely song than the red-eye. The blue-headed vireo prefers mature hemlock, spruce, and pine woods, but they also nest in pure deciduous forests, so look for them in any wooded habitat.

Formerly known as the “solitary vireo,” the blue head is now named for its blue-gray (think nuthatch blue) head. It also has two white wing bars, a white throat, and white “spectacles” (white eye ring that extends to bill).

The blue-headed song is a series of short two- and three-note phrases. It suggests a red-eye song, but it’s slower with longer pauses, the notes are purer (not course like a yellow-throated), and some notes are slurred. Though vireos tend to be difficult to see, the white-eyed vireo stays closer to the ground and sometimes sings from exposed perches above dense vegetation.

I find them in grape vine and bramble thickets. Look for white-eyes along forest edges and in old fields. Field marks to note include olive green body, two white wing bars, yellow spectacles, and white eyes. But again, this vireo’s voice gives it away.

It’s song is loud, emphatic, and not particularly musical. I learned it as, “Chick! Chick-a-per-whir! Chick!” but I prefer the phrasing included in some field guides: “Quick, pick up the beer check!”

Warbling vireo

The final vireo you might encounter here in the east is the warbling vireo. It is typically common in deciduous woods especially along streams, rivers, and lakes. If you see Baltimore or orchard orioles in an area, watch for warbling vireos because they are often found together.

Warbling vireos are as drab as birds come. White below, olive gray above, and no wing bars, the best field mark is probably the dark eyes bordered by white eyebrows. Unlike the other vireos, the warbling vireo sings a song, not just a series of broken phrases. Many notes are slurred, and the song is longer, more musical, and pleasant.

Though vireos are often difficult to see in the tree tops, they often respond to “pishing.” Just say the word “pish” without the “i.”

Males sometimes reveal themselves when they respond to find the “intruder,” especially during the nesting season.

Keep in mind that Perry had been based in Erie, Pennsylvania, the officer charged with building a small navy of worthy, wind-powered ships. His own ship, the USS Lawrence, well-armed with cannon and driven by a full rigging of canvas, held court to several smaller craft, each with a defined purpose and its own crew.

At the time there were no canals leading to and from Lake Erie, no watery path on which to deliver materials or craft thus a Lake Erie navy was to be built there with pieces, parts, and fittings from nearby inland cities.

As the War of 1812 raged on Perry received orders to engage the English fleet that patrolled near the Ohio islands.He rallied his crew and craft at Put-in-Bay to await the right time. As he set out, the nearly calm day provided just enough push to bring the two fleets together but Perry, normally an aggressive striker did so but without the speed a stiff wind would have provided.

Deadly clash

The battle was not won easily. The Lawrence was broadsided by not one but three English gunships and was easily heavily damaged abnd disabled, killing or injuring most of his crew. But Perry, not to be denied his victory, found his way to another ship, the USS Niagara, took command of it, and attacked again, this time with a different outcome.In fact, in a matter of just a few hours, Perry’s damaged fleet declared victory, symbolically receiving official surrender on his still afloat Lawrence. Interestingly, not a single ship from either side was sunk, just severely damaged.

Season-long celebration

In recognition of the Battle of Lake Erie, which took place exactly two hundred years ago, a season-long celebration is underway in the shadow of the 350-foot granite tower honoring Perry and others who fought.

Perry’s Victory and International Peace Tower, a national treasure and valued tourist attraction, easily visible for miles, was built 100 years after the battle and continues to be a highly-known symbol of the relationship of conflict and peace.

The tower stands proudly just east of Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island, one of a series of limestone islands about three miles north of Ohio mainland.Prior to the building of the monument, there stood a nearby grand hotel, the Hotel Victory, a 650-room and-1,000 seat dining room resort which, although surrounded by the waters of Lake Erie, sadly burned to the ground in 1919.

Schedules for events and other significant happenings related the celebration are available online. A reenactment will take place in September.

Admiral Perry died of yellow fever at just 34 years old. His fleet consisted of six ships, the smaller of which were charged with maneuvering in a way to prevent the Lawrence from being broadsided and vulnerable. Tour guides at the monument provide visitors with great detail about the battle, the methods of engagement, and the significance of the battle’s outcome.

Indeed, the United States, England, and Canada share a lasting and friendly peace that developed in the years following the Battle of Lake Erie. Interestingly, the monument has reduced its season by several weeks this year, management blaming the shortened calendar on national budget cuts.

Opening day this year is in late May and visitors would be wise to check the monument website for hours.

I was going to let last week’s news story by reporter Kristy Seachrist stand on its own, and let readers read between the lines for themselves about how the Humane Society of the United States was creating a new agriculture advisory council in Ohio “to advance humane and sustainable agricultural practices.”

I even let a week go by, muttering under my breath for seven days, “If you can’t say something nice about someone, don’t say anything at all.”

Then I caved.

That’s because I re-read a comment in HSUS’ media release from John Dinon, HSUS’ Ohio director of outreach and engagement: “We are excited to connect Ohio’s conscientious consumers to the kind of traditional family farmers they want to support.”

And this one from the activist group’s state director, Karen Minton: “With animal agriculture being dominated by industrial agribusiness interests, it is important to support and work with Ohio’s sustainable farmers who strive to be good stewards of the animals and the land.”

How dare they? How dare HSUS wrap itself in the cloak of “traditional family farmers” as if any farmer who doesn’t carry the HSUS torch is somehow Big Ag or a “factory farmer.”

How dare they infer that the bulk of Ohio’s farmers don’t care about the welfare of their livestock? Or don’t practice sustainable agricultural methods?

HSUS is not an organization for agriculture or farmers. It is an animal rights organization.

Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security by the seemingly mainstream embrace of animal welfare and humane treatment goals. The beliefs of the HSUS leaders remain black and white: reducing the consumption of meat and other animal-based foods; and replacing meat and other animal-based foods in the diet with plant-based foods.

It’s just that they’ve gotten very smart about developing the means to that end. They still hold up the vegan ideal, but support anything that moves away from “industrial factory farming.” An interim strategy, if you will.

(Incidentally, someone didn’t do his homework, and HSUS got some deserved criticism of the original name — the Ohio Agriculture Council — which is very similar to the long-standing Ohio Agricultural Council that sponsors the Ohio ag hall of fame. HSUS quietly changed the council’s name to the HSUS Agriculture Advisory Council for Ohio.)

HSUS enlisted the support of five Ohio farmers as “founding members” of its council. I have met two of them, have heard others speak, and I know they have the best interest of Ohio agriculture at heart.

Council member Mardy Townsend, an Ashtabula County cattleman, told Farm and Dairy’s Kristy Seachrist she’s not a spokesperson for the group, but you can bet the HSUS will trot out these council members to illustrate their connection — their credibility on the street — to real farmers.

This is the new, more moderate face of animal rights.

Even the Ohio Farm Bureau, which helped broker the 2010 compromise between HSUS and Ohio’s major farm groups regarding animal welfare issues that helped stave off an HSUS ballot initiative, blasted the new HSUS effort.

An OFBF statement said HSUS “has chosen to ignore Ohio’s leadership in protecting the well-being of farm animals,” referring to the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board that was created by voters in 2009 and has work openly to create the livestock care standards now on the books.

“HSUS is positioning its judgment as being superior to that of Ohio citizens,” the OFBF statement continued.

No surprise there.

The Animal Agriculture Alliance made this observation after the 2011 “Conference to End Factory Farming”: “While vegetarians and vegans represent just a tiny fraction of society — about 97 percent of Americans include meat, milk and eggs in their diet — they are beginning to have a disproportionately loud voice.”

Farmers, we need to think very carefully about that loud voice. Does it speak for you?

No.

By Susan Crowell

It took a while, but I think winter has finally lost its tenuous grip on us. The smells of spring are fully upon us now. Newly mown grass, lilacs in bloom and, yes, that favorite scent of spring for a farmer, the smell of newly worked soils.

Planting in the area is well underway. Those southern counties are eying the finish of planting while their northern neighbors are wondering if the soil temps are about ready for seed. Planting plans that were rock solid last winter are being tweaked, changed and finally put in place.

And yes, especially now, we keep a wary eye on the sky, listen to the weather on the radio, on the television and even keep tabs on it with our smartphones, tablets and laptops, all with a bit of distrust and saying a prayer to the heavens until we get the last seed in.

So are you done planting yet? Have you enrolled in DCP/ACRE yet? With the farm bill extension, producers wishing to participate in ACRE must be enrolled by June 3. Those participating in DCP catch a break and the deadline for enrollment this year is Aug. 2.

Now, if or when, you are done planting, why not call your FSA office and set up a time to report your acres? The final reporting dates are June 30, 2013, for small grains and July 15 for all other crops.

With planting well under way, if you find that you are just a bit ahead of schedule and want to break out a few more acres or upgrade that tiling before you get into the field with the planter, please remember that in order for landowners and operators to receive payments from USDA, compliance with Highly Erodible Land (HEL) and Wetland Conservation (WC) provisions is required.

Farmers with HEL-determined soils need to comply with tillage, crop residue, and rotation requirements specified in their conservation plan.
Producers or landowners who participate in USDA programs are to notify the USDA Farm Service Agency prior to conducting land clearing or drainage projects to insure compliance regardless of who is actually responsible for the work being performed. Failure to obtain advance approval for any of these activities can result in the loss of eligibility for certain USDA program benefits.

Happy planting, be safe and may God bless you!

That’s all for now,

FSA Andy

(Part I)

(See Part II)

Charlie was the only great-grandparent I ever knew. His wife had died in the year before my birth, but the stories of Anna Chloe live on.

Born in 1884, Charlie carried the experience of a lifetime of farming, and he loved plowing and planting with his team of horses.

Didn’t want tractors

When tractors came along, he wanted nothing to do with them. He knew how his horses would perform, and those crazy machines just couldn’t be trusted to ‘gee’ and ‘haw’ when he turned the steering wheel.

Most of the neighbors believed it was because Anna Chloe wouldn’t spare a dime for her husband to put fuel in a tractor that would cost way too much money to buy, when the horses were already being fed and housed. Charlie loved his horses, so they weren’t for sale at any price.

When the harvest was completed, Anna grumbled that those horses were still going to keep right on eating, even though they essentially weren’t earning their keep until the spring work started up again. This, of course, was back in the years when every farmer saved out his best harvest for seed the following year.

One day, Anna Chloe came upon this seed in the granary of the barn and nearly expired from the thought of money being frittered away, wondering why in the world Charlie didn’t sell the entire crop for cash.

“I do believe the rafters of that old barn were lifted by the shout she let out!” Charlie said with an ornery grin.

Waste not

She saved everything, including gift wrapping paper, ironing it to be used again. She lit a lantern only if it was absolutely necessary to see to do fine work, otherwise sitting out on the porch where light was free. She held on to every fabric scrap, finding a use for it.

Every meal, made from scratch, provided potential leftovers to be stirred up in to a new dish. Her egg money somehow stretched mightily in her hands, and she could cook and bake circles around the finest chef.

Long after neighbors had electricity, this couple relied on a windmill to power their place.

Of good stock

Charlie first met Anna when his brother Frank landed a job on the Fry farm in 1905. Anna was one of 10 children, and learned to cook by helping her German-born mother prepare large meals.

Using the guise of checking on his brother, Charlie kept his eye on one of the impressive Fry girls. The two were married in September 1906, after Charlie received the blessing of the bride’s father and immediately took his horse and buggy to get the marriage license.

Tough row

Their early years were financially challenging, as Charlie continued to help his widowed mother raise her younger sons on her own farm. Perhaps it was this that soured Anna on ever owning a farm of their own, but for years Anna and Charlie repeatedly moved from rental farms and homes when a buyer came along for the one they temporarily called home.

Eventually they landed on a 200-acre place with a big house in a welcoming community, and Charlie enjoyed growing corn, wheat, oats and hay. He kept cows, steers and lambs in two large barns, while Anna raised chickens and sold eggs for household money.

My father’s memories of this grandmother was of a hard-working, determined woman who rarely smiled, though she was married to the most jovial man in the community. Perhaps that is what made it work, as the two made a successful team and raised three children, one being my father’s mom, Helen.

Clothes were handed down to the next child in line until they were deemed unfit to wear and became cleaning rags, and whatever leftovers we had from suppers throughout the week became a “pot luck” style supper on Fridays.
Granted, with seven children, their main reason for recycling was to save money, but it reduced the amount of trash we sent to the landfill nonetheless.

Recycling

Today, recycling has become a part of our everyday lives and we are more aware of why it is important to recycle.

Recycling saves energy, land space and money. It reduces air and water pollution and preserves habitat for wildlife. Recycling even creates jobs. All these things are good for our environment, which is the main reason we recycle today. And our efforts are making a difference.
But more can always be done and since SWCDs work with farmers, it was a natural progression to somehow get farmers to recycle their agricultural plastic film wrap.

Giant marshmallows

The use of agricultural plastic film wrap has increased significantly over the years. Just drive by any farm and chances are you will see hay wrapped up like giant marshmallows and rows of silage all encased in ag plastic wrap. But what happens to all this plastic once the farmer is done with it?

Typically it is thrown into the trash and eventually goes to the landfill. Some farmers will burn the plastic, contributing to air pollution, while others may bury it or just pile it up with other debris creating a not-so-picturesque scene.

None of these ways are the best options from an environmental standpoint.

Now there is a program where farmers can recycle their ag plastic film wrap. Several local soil and water districts, Ohio Farm Bureau, OSU Extension, county commissioners, and the Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne Solid Waste Management District have collaborated on an ag plastic recycling program called Ohio RAPP (Recycling Ag Plastic Partnership). Ohio RAPP is in its infancy stage and is looking for environmentally minded farmers to participate in this recycling project.

400 super sacks

Ohio RAPP has actually joined forces with a similar project started last year by the Carroll County Farm Bureau. This project, which covers Carroll, Columbiana, Harrison, Jefferson, and Tuscarawas counties, has so far distributed over 400 super sacks to farmers and has recently taken its first truckload of ag plastic to the recycling center.

The newly expanded Ohio RAPP is now targeting farmers in Ashland, Holmes, Stark, and Wayne counties as well as those first five counties; however any farmer who would like to participate in this program is welcome to stop into any of the super sack pick up locations and request a sack.

More information on this program, or for pick up or drop off locations, can be found at www.wayneswcd.org/agplasticrecycling.html or call the SWCD office in one of the participating counties.

How it works

The program is simple in theory and works like this: Farmers pick up a “super sack” from a local pick-up point. The farmer takes this super sack back to his farm and begins filling it with his ag plastic. Once the super sack is full, the farmer then takes the sack to a designated drop off point.

Once the drop-off location has a truckload of bags, somewhere around 50-70 sacks, the recycler is contacted for a pick up. Each sack could weigh up to 500 pounds, so each truck load has the potential of taking up to 30,000 pounds of plastic out of our landfills.
This recycled plastic is then shredded, processed and made into sidewalks and other products.

Make RAPP a success

SWCD offices have always known that many farmers are environmentally conscientious people and we are hoping that these individuals will step up to the plate and make Ohio RAPP a success story.

With a little effort, this used ag plastic doesn’t have to be burned, buried or taken to the landfill, it can be recycled and made into something else. When you consider that it takes more than 500 years for plastic to decompose, wouldn’t it make more sense to recycle that plastic and make it into a sidewalk or other product that could last that many years?