By ANN HINCH
Assistant Editor

DESHLER, Ohio — It was 17 years ago that Rohrs Brothers started growing tomatoes under contract for Indiana’s Red Gold Co. Tony Rohrs (who runs Rohrs Brothers with brother Andy and father, Paul) said the Ohio farmers started out with 80 acres for Red Gold and now grow 300.

Two weeks ago at the Indiana State Fair, Red Gold Director of Agriculture Steve Smith presented the company’s second annual Stewardship Award to Tony Rohrs on behalf of Rohrs Brothers. “One of the things we wanted to emphasize as a company is them being good stewards of the land,” Smith said, referring to the company’s contract farmers.

He said the Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) developed criteria for the award and conducted field interviews to assist. For this year’s award, there were 22 applicants representing more than 54,000 acres.

Smith said his definition of “sustainability” is one farm being able to go through many generations, in better shape as it passes to each succeeding one. The Rohrs farm is now in the care of its fourth generation, he said, and consists of 6,000 acres and a greenhouse operation.

“They just exemplify this commitment to sustainable agriculture,” he explained.

Rohrs said they principally grow corn, soybeans and wheat in a mixture of till and no-till. The farm makes use of filter strips, which are stretches of unplanted land which are designed to leave anywhere between 20 and 300 feet between crops and ditches. This gives any runoff the chance to “filter” onto the grass strip or ditch and not reach nearby waterways, he explained.

It may seem this unplanted land is a financial loss for the farmer, but Rohrs said what they employ is not even an acre in size and is partially offset by payments from the USDA and Pheasants Forever. “The loss, for the benefit, is not much,” he added.

Their farm uses overlap sprayer technology, which shuts off a sprayer if the computer knows it has already applied to a particular strip of land. They also use encapsulated nitrogen, which includes a stabilizer that causes the fertilizer to leach out into the soil slowly, for better crop absorption and to minimize runoff.

“You’re talking about not wasting chemicals,” Rohrs pointed out.

While his family did apply for the award and do like being recognized for taking these measures, Rohrs said they would do it anyway: “We’ve done a good job, and that’s it.”

With the honor goes a $1,000 scholarship for any child in the Rohrs family or, if they don’t take advantage of it, Smith said it will be designated to a school of their choice in their name. “The whole concept of conservation and stewardship is to honor the next generation,” he explained.

The winning grower is also given the opportunity to sell Red Gold an extra load of tomatoes per day during harvest season. Smith said this may not sound like much but to a grower with ready fruit, that extra daily load “can be worth a fortune.”

The second-place winner, McKillip Farms of Wabash, Ind., received a $500 scholarship and the chance to sell Red Gold an extra half-load per day. Smith said a second-chance drawing is also held with the remaining applicants’ names to select one to sell the company an extra load per day during harvest.

As for an Indiana company awarding an Ohio farm operation? “In this great state, we’re always happy to celebrate conservation, no matter where it may fall,” ISDA Director Joe Kelsay quipped.