Champaign County News

Champaign Economic Partnership - CEP Ohio
  • Why Champaign County?
  • Start a Business
  • Site Selector
    • Available Properties
    • Financial Incentives
    • Training Incentives
    • Maps
    • Utilities
    • Tax Reform
  • Key Industries
    • Agri-Business
    • Manufacturing
    • Health Care Services
  • Workforce & Talent
    • Champaign Works Job Board
    • Wage & Benefit Survey
    • Engineering Survey
    • Local Schools
    • Colleges & Universities
  • Community
    • Champaign County Comprehensive Plan
    • Housing Study
    • Demographics
    • Maps
    • Real Estate Agencies
  • News
    • Public Notices
    • Newsletter
  • About CEP
    • Staff
    • Board

Touring Champaign County Farms

6/24/2019

0 Comments

 
Champaign County Farms
Dorothy Pelanda, director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, reaches to pet a cow at Dugan Road Creamery as owner Joyce Nelson stands by. Photos by Christopher Selmek | Urbana Daily Citizen
By Christopher Selmek, Urbana Daily Citizen
Dorothy Pelanda, director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, visited three Champaign County Farms on Thursday and ended her tour at the first Movie on the Farm at Pretty Prairie Farm. Her escort, Marcia Bailey, director of Champaign Economic Partnership, said she arranged this tour in cooperation with the Champaign County Agriculture Association to highlight nontraditional agriculture in the county. The tour was scheduled to begin at Dragonfly Vineyard & Wine Center, 710 W. Herr Road, in the north part of the county, but this stop was canceled because Pelanda was on the phone with Gov. Mike DeWine discussing the recent flooding of multiple farms around Ohio due to heavy rain.

Freshwater Farms of Ohio
Touring Freshwater Farms of Ohio on Thursday are, from left, Marcia Bailey, director of Champaign Economic Partnership; Dorothy Pelanda, director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture; Dr. Dave Smith, owner of Freshwater Farms; and Kirby Brandenbury of U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan’s office.
Pelanda got back on schedule during her visit to Freshwater Farms of Ohio, 2624 N. U.S. Route 68, just north of Urbana.

She next visited Champaign Berry Farm, 5676 E. state Route 29, then Dugan Road Creamery, 1751, S. Dugan Road. She finally joined local farmers at Pretty Prairie Farm, 4440 Prairie Road, to make a few comments before returning to her home in Marysville.

“I live on the family farm in Marysville where I was raised, and growing up on that farm the issues of water and soil conservation, invasive species and wildlife management were things that my mom and my dad and my brothers and sisters lived every day,” she said.

Freshwater Farms of Ohio
Observing perch at Freshwater Farms of Ohio are, from left, Marcia Bailey, director of Champaign Economic Partnership; Kirby Brandenbury, of U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan’s office; Dr. Dave Smith, owner of Freshwater Farms; and Dorothy Pelanda, director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Photos by Christopher Selmek | Urbana Daily Citizen
“And so I come to this job with a real passion and understanding for continuing to do that.”

Speaking for a few minutes before the movie “Farmers for America,” Pelanda said that she and DeWine are concerned about the ongoing wet season.

“We have had an unbelievable year,” she said.

“It really started with last fall, and so last Friday I worked with Gov. DeWine to send a letter to (U.S. Department of Agriculture) Secretary (Sonny) Perdue, asking the secretary of our federal government to declare Ohio a disaster area so that farmers can begin filing claims with the local (Farm Service Agency) offices.

Pretty Prairie Farm
Dorothy Pelanda, director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture speaks at the beginning of the first Movie on the Farm at Pretty Prairie Farm on Thursday.
This is the first step in a many-step process toward helping farmers get the aid they need.

Someone asked me today where the worst part of this is, and I would be hard pressed to tell you because the governor and I were in Perrysburg yesterday in northwest Ohio, tomorrow we’re going to be in Darke County, and everywhere, from wherever I drive to wherever I go, our farms are under water.

Picture
Dorothy Pelanda, director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, listens to Champaign Berry Farm owner Mike Pullins after picking berries in the field.
“These issues crisscross all aspects of agribusinesses,” she continued. “Co-ops are suffering because they have no grain or no corn to sell. Fertilizer companies aren’t selling fertilizer. Farm machinery companies aren’t selling machinery. Livestock farmers have not been able to spread manure since last October, and we’ve been helping them with money to build emergency lagoons and manure storage sheds.

Also, livestock farmers are telling me they’re not going to have silage to feed their livestock, and they don’t know what they’re going to do.

“The best news is that we have a governor who is a farmer,” she added.

“I’ve visited his farm in Cedarville many times and I’ve met the familythat farms his farm, and believe me that farmer is in Gov. DeWine’s ear every single day talking to him about the real issues on Gov. DeWine’s farm itself, but also the issues statewide. So Gov. DeWine has farmers in his heart and in his mind every day as he goes about the state doing the business of the state of Ohio.”

Touring Champaign County farms
At Pelanda’s first stop at Freshwater Farms of Ohio she met owner Dr. Dave Smith, who walked her past a series of fish tanks, some containing fish you could pet or feed. Inside one building he said that each tank contained 4,600 perch at a time and that the crowded school makes the fish feel more at ease.

Smith also explained his RAINBOW - Routing And Integrating Nutrient Byproducts Of Wastewater - program through which he recycles water to irrigate six acres of field to grow melons, pumpkins, bell peppers and tomatoes. With his background in ecology he has fostered a diverse ecosystem of insects that naturally prevents any one pest species from gaining an advantage, making pesticides unnecessary.

Pelanda encouraged Smith to set aside acreage to grow hemp, saying that the governor will be signing a bill later this summer authorizing her, as the director of agriculture, to grant farmers licenses to grow hemp with almost no restrictions.

“Hearing Dave talk about his passion and his vision for what he wants to do in the future with hydroponics and aquaponics is really exciting,” she said prior to the film. “We then moved to Mike (Pullins) and Cathy’s Berry Farm, and in the misty rain we picked some beautiful red and black raspberries, and what a treasure that is going to be to take home to my husband tonight.”

After picking berries, Pelanda sat on an EZ-Go cart with Mike as he explained his farming methods. He said that pick-your-own raspberry season was to begin today and invited area residents to the farm at 5676 E. state Route 29.

According to Pullins, the first berries available will be red raspberries, but black raspberries would likely be available next week.

Pelanda was joined at this stop by Melinda Lee, organization director of the Champaign County Farm Bureau.

Lee gave Pelanda a bottle of wine on behalf of Dragonfly Vineyard.

Finally, Pelanda visited Dugan Road Creamery and was guided through the process of making yogurt. Owner Joyce Nelson said one cow drinks an average of 50 gallons of water and produces 145 pounds of milk every day. Pelanda watched owner Chris Nelson operate a pasteurizing machine that can produce one pound of cheese from a gallon of milk, or four gallons of yogurt from five gallons of milk. “Our final stop was at a unique dairy farm, and it was just wonderful because from cow to yogurt we got to see the process from finish to end, so it was a very memorable visit,” Pelanda said of the visit prior to the film.

For more information about any of the farms on this tour, contact the CEP at 937-653-7200.

Christopher Selmek can be reached at 937-508-2304.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015

    Categories

    All
    Aerospace
    Agriculture
    Aldi
    American Pan Company
    Berry Digital Solutions
    Bundy Baking Solutions
    Business Advisory Council
    Business Community Support
    Business Liaison
    Business Playbook
    Career Fair
    CEP
    Champaign Aviation Museum
    Champaign County Events
    Champaign County Job Board
    Champaign County Jobs
    Champaign Foundation
    Champaign Health District
    Champaign Works
    Clark State
    Cobblestone Hotel
    ColePak
    Community Improvement
    Community Reinvestment
    Douglas Hotel
    DP&L
    Economic Development
    Edison State Community College
    Education
    FASTLANE
    Graham Schools
    Hall Company
    Health Care Services
    Honda
    Honeywell
    Housing Market
    Hughey & Phillips
    JobsOhio
    Johnson Welded Products
    JRS
    Kiser Lake
    Koenig Equipment
    KTH
    Legacy Place
    Manufacturing
    Manufacturing Day
    #ManufacturingMonday
    Mary Rutan Hospital
    Mechanicsburg
    Mechanicsburg Business
    Mechanicsburg High School
    Mercy Memorial Hospital
    Monument Square District
    Moving Downtown Forward
    Navistar
    New Business
    New Construction
    North Lewisburg
    Ohio Hi Point
    Ohio Hi-Point
    OhioMeansJobs Champaign County
    Ohio TechCred
    Old Souls Farms
    Opportunity Zones
    ORBIS
    Parker Trutec
    Pioneer Electric
    Q3/JMC Property
    Real Estate
    Recruitment
    Rittal
    Robert Rothschild Farm
    Rosewood Machine & Tool Co.
    Sarica Manufacturing
    Senior Center
    Senior Housing
    Shop Local
    Small Business Development
    Small Business Loans
    South Main Street Corridor
    Springfield Foundation
    Start A Business
    St. Paris
    Sutphen Corp
    Talent Retention
    Tax Incentives
    Technology
    Top 100 Micropolitan
    Transportation
    Triad High School
    True Inspection Services
    Ultra Met
    Urbana City Council
    Urbana City Schools
    Urbana Hotel
    Urbana Planning Commission
    Urbana University
    Wage And Benefits Survey
    WEIDMANN
    West Liberty Salem Schools
    West Liberty-Salem Schools
    Wittenberg University
    Zoning

    RSS Feed

Picture
CEP Office Location:
40 Monument Square, Suite 306
Urbana, Ohio 43078
937-653-7200
Accessibility
All drone photography courtesy of Jassen Dobyns of UAVisions LLC. Additional photography courtesy of ​Dave Millner of the Champaign Camera Group.
Website by Berry Digital Solutions, LLC
Urbana, Ohio
Click on the logos for more information.
 Champaign County Jobs
Picture
Picture
Dayton Development Coalition logo
Champaign County Chamber of Commerce logo
Picture
Picture
Picture
North Lewisburg, Ohio website
St. Paris, Ohio
  • Why Champaign County?
  • Start a Business
  • Site Selector
    • Available Properties
    • Financial Incentives
    • Training Incentives
    • Maps
    • Utilities
    • Tax Reform
  • Key Industries
    • Agri-Business
    • Manufacturing
    • Health Care Services
  • Workforce & Talent
    • Champaign Works Job Board
    • Wage & Benefit Survey
    • Engineering Survey
    • Local Schools
    • Colleges & Universities
  • Community
    • Champaign County Comprehensive Plan
    • Housing Study
    • Demographics
    • Maps
    • Real Estate Agencies
  • News
    • Public Notices
    • Newsletter
  • About CEP
    • Staff
    • Board