Tusc SWCD holds legislative tour
- col-conservation-corner
- July 11, 2023
- 443
The Tuscarawas Soil & Water Conservation District hosted a conservation tour for legislatures on Thursday, June 22.
Agriculture is the No. 1 industry in Tuscarawas County, and we wanted to showcase the importance of it to our legislatures. We were joined by Tuscarawas County commissioners Chris Abbuhl and Kristen Zemis, State Sen. Al Landis, USDA-NRCS staff, and Tuscarawas SWCD board members.
Our goal was to get them out in the field to see firsthand some agriculture production and conservation practices happening around the county. We made five stops throughout the day looking at five different aspects of agriculture.
The first stop was in Newcomerstown to see a 186-acre agricultural easement. Ag easements protect the agriculture interests of the land for future generations. In other words the land will always remain in agriculture production and will not be able to be developed.
Next, we toured a tree farm enrolled in the American Tree Farm System, which promotes wood production, wildlife habitat, water quality and recreation. This farm is a prime example of forestry production and management. Many forestry practices such as invasive species removal, timber stand improvement and tree plantings have taken place over the years to improve the land, native species and wildlife habitat.
Our third and fourth stops were both near Stone Creek. At the beef cattle and crop farm, we talked about grazing conservation practices, dry manure storage and crop production for feeding cattle. Tuscarawas County is ranked 12th in the state for beef production.
At the dairy farm, we talked about crop and hay forage production for dairy cows, liquid manure storage, and manure management. Tuscarawas County is ranked fifth in the state for milk production.
Our last stop brought us to the village of Baltic, where we were joined by Mayor Keith Ely. We enjoyed a local lunch and talked more about the programs and assistance we offer to Tuscarawas County landowners. We looked at a stream bank restoration grant project we are working on at the village park. Stream bank erosion and degradation is a major issue for water quality, fish and aquatic habitat. This project will take care of those issues and improve the recreation and aesthetic aspects as well.
We want to thank our wonderful producers who allowed us to stop at their farms to help show our legislators a little more about agriculture around Tuscarawas County.
To learn about what’s happening at the Tuscarawas Soil & Water Conservation District, be sure to follow us on Facebook and check out our website at www.tuscsoil.com.
Dylan Stine is a
Tuscarawas SWCD
district technician