By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board was created to establish standards governing the care and well-being of livestock while promoting food safety.

Now, Ohioans can monitor the activities of this board thanks to the board’s new website at www.ohiolivestockcare standardsboard.com
“This website gives Ohioans an update on what the board is doing, at any moment,” said Megumi Robinson, Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) Public Information Officer. “The website allows people to stay up with what’s going on and permits people to ask some direct questions of the board.”

When the board was formed in November and during the month of May, six regional public listening sessions were held throughout Ohio in Geauga, Allen, Franklin, Montgomery, Guernsey and Ross counties. The sessions were designed to introduce the board to all parts of the state.

The new website allows all Ohioans to get involved with the board and its activities. “We’ve gotten a lot of feedback about the website,” Robinson said. “People are excited to see the board’s presence on the Web.”

The board is also charged with promoting food safety, preventing animal and human diseases and encouraging local food production. The interactive site features meeting notices, past meeting minutes, frequently asked questions, updates, contact information and more.

The highlight of the website, however, is the ability for visitors to offer direct comment to the board. Questions included questions regarding livestock well- being, various production practices, the extent regulation, the impracticality of one-size-fits-all standards, unintended consequences, feeding a growing population and using facts rather than emotions to determine standards.

The board plans to have some standards out this month with regards to euthanasia, downer animals and other less complicated, more specific regulations.

“Clearly, Ohio has blazed a bold new trail for other states to follow on the issue of livestock care and well-being,” said Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation. “It is clear that voters in that state know farmers and ranchers share their values regarding the care of farm animals.”

Last November Ohio voters approved a constitutional amendment (by a vote of 64 to 34 percent) that created this board, establishing what many believe will be a model for other states. Many in the ag community hailed it as victory, saying it recognized the role farmers play in caring for farm animals and providing a safe and quality food supply.

This board is chaired by the director of the ODA and includes three family farmers, two veterinarians, a food safety expert, a representative of a local Humane Society, two members representing statewide farm organizations, the dean of an Ohio agriculture college and two members representing Ohio consumers.
More than 700 Ohioans attended the listening sessions, and 142 agricultural producers, consumers and animal welfare advocates provided oral comment to the board. The board expects much more input thanks to its new website.

For more information about the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board, visit www.ohiolivestockcarestandardsboard.org or e-mail livesstockstandards board@agri.ohio.gov