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Pedro’s Angus owners host visitors to Ohio farm’s ops
 
By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent
 
OXFORD, Ohio — Genetically modified organisms (GMOs), food safety, use of antibiotics – these are all hot topics right now for urban dwellers and farmers alike. The Butler County Day on the Farm provided an opportunity for both groups to have a conversation about these issues. 
 
The Ohio State University extension in Butler County, the Butler Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) partnered with Pedro’s Angus owners Bill and Bev Roe to allow folks to spend a day on a farm.

They could take a hayride, pet a calf, try free steak samples, guess “Tank” Bull’s weight and see a conservation compost barn. “We wanted a program that allowed residents from all backgrounds – agriculture and urban – to come onto a farm,” said Kelly Crout, Butler SWCD district administrator.

“We wanted to focus on the conservation practices, what farmers are doing to help the soil health, to help water quality, focusing on positives showing the public that farmers do care about sustainability and about the environment.”

Pedro’s Angus has 350 acres of owned and rented pasture and hayfields, and another 100 acres of woods for wildlife habitat. Their “crop” is bulls and females; they own 270 black Angus.

Much information on television and the internet tells people how a farm, whatever the crop, operates. The Roes prefer to show people everything from their conservation practices to how they ensure a safe food supply, said Bill Roe.

“Those are big topics now,” he said. “People want to know, ‘Is my food really good?’ Some of those discussions are about GMOs, antibiotics, grass-fed versus corn-fed, things like that. We want to encourage those conversations.

“We think in our industry it is our responsibility to bring both sides together and have conversations. This is the kind of forum that allows that in a casual manner.”

On the hayride, guests could see the Roes’ lush pastures. Unlike homeowners using a lawn service for weed control, they and Michael Everett, their farm manager, maintain the pastures without chemicals. Rather, the Roes use a bush hog to cut off seed heads so weeds don’t reseed.

They use rotational grazing, so the cattle trim the grass and keep weeds out. “Yes, if our alfalfa field has a weevil that is ready to kill the entire field, we’re going to spray it with a very specific spray designated to eliminate that particular insect,” Roe said. “We will use it to save the field.

“We need to have those discussions. I think one thing that is very telltale is that we eat our product, too. I’m not going to feed my family something that is bad.”

John Williams, the NRCS district conservationist, said his group was involved because, “We want to make sure that those who are from the city have an opportunity to see what it is like on the farm.”

“Someone asked if our visitors expressed their appreciation for the Farm Day,” said Bev. “It was evident by their actions. Our farm was as clean and neat when they left as when they arrived.”
5/25/2017