FOSTORIA, Ohio — Ag Credit, a major agricultural lender in Ohio, is endorsing Issue 2, a voter referendum to create an Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board.
Voters will be asked Nov. 3 to add a provision to the state Constitution, establishing the board, which would set standards for the care and well-being of livestock statewide.
“State standards for the treatment of livestock and poultry are good for Ohio’s farmers and good for Ohio’s consumers,” Ag Credit CEO Neil Jordan said.
The Ag Credit Board of Directors has donated $20,000 to Ohioans for Livestock Care.
Ag Credit has a stake in the success of Ohio’s agricultural industry because the lending cooperative finances farm businesses throughout 18 counties in Northwestern Ohio.
Board
The 11-member Livestock Board would be directed to help “maintain food safety, encourage locally grown and raised food, and protect Ohio farms and families,” the ballot question says.
It directs the board to consider factors that include biosecurity, disease prevention and animal mortality, as well as food safety, affordability and availability.
For more information about the board, visit: http://ohiolivestockcare.com and http://legislature.state.oh.us/res.cfm?ID=128_SJR_6.
Ag Credit
Ag Credit is a rural lending cooperative serving 18 counties in Northwestern Ohio. Ag Credit provides loans for farms and agricultural business. It has branches serving: Crawford, Erie, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Huron, Lorain, Lucas, Marion, Morrow, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Wood and Wyandot counties.
Ag Credit has more than 4,500 borrowers and about $950 million in active loans.
See related story on Issue 2 and the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board:
http://www.farmanddairy.com/news/state-voters-get-to-make-the-next-step/12865.html.
Issue 2 is just about greed and abusing farm animals!! It is like having the fox guard the hen house. It is outrageous!! Ohio needs to move away from factory farms and into the 21st century
Gisele….
What exactly is a factory farm? I have never been on a farm that wasnt owned by a family. I have worked for farms that milked 10 cows and farms that milke 5000 cows….both of them owned by a family and worked by the family. One fact that most people that are not involved with ag do not understand is that most farms in Ohio are small farms. These regulations cripple small farms because they are applied evenly to all size operations. large operations have the luxury of the economy of scale. Of the approximately 2400 dairy farms in Ohio, only about 50 are more than 500 cows. About 70% of the milk in Ohio comes from small farms.
HSUS does not want Issue 2 to pass because they want to pass a bill that would further regulate animal agriculture. Issue 2 is a great bill becuase it allows us to develop standards to help farmers provide modern animal welfare models on their farms that are consistent with sound farming practices. We need to protect our agriculture community in this state and Issue 2 allows us to do this.
I find it ironic that HSUS would be AGAINST an animal welfare bill….it reveals their true agenda more than words could say.
K. Fred Gingrich II DVM
Ashland, OH