Whether you are from the rolling hills of southern Ohio, the soils of the Great Lakes or anywhere in between, you don’t have to look far to realize that we are a state built on agriculture. From the state’s nearly 77,000 farms that produce more than 200 diverse crops to more than 1,000 agricultural processing plants, we are blessed to be a state with a strong, multi-billion dollar agricultural base that not only provides us with food, clothing, and other necessities, but also harmonizes with our environment and positions us to thrive in the future.

How do our farmers maintain this economic engine while protecting our land? The answer is simple. Farmers, the founders of environmental stewardship, not only work hard to make every day “Earth Day,” they also adapt with the times to work smarter, increase efficiencies, and produce superior products that are good for the producer, good for the people, and good for the environment.

Ask any farmer and you will find that conservation farming practices such as no-till, riparian buffers, grassed waterway maintenance, and windbreaks to control erosion are common practices in the industry. In addition, precision farming, using satellite maps and computer models, allows farmers to use fewer fertilizers and pesticides while producing higher quality, higher yielding crops.

These advancements sharpen the efficiency of agriculture and help maintain agriculture’s strong, beneficial presence in Ohio.

Most Ohioans today are removed from the farm, but the people working on the farm and in our agribusinesses are keeping agriculture strong. The food and agriculture industry is a key to Ohio’s economic success, adding more than $79 billion to the economy each year and employing one in seven people with jobs on or off the farm. Ohio’s farmers and producers do all of this while being good stewards of the land to protect their livelihood today and for future generations.

Farmers’ allegiance to the land combined with the important role that agriculture plays in our state builds the foundation for our environmental success.

But this is a mere drop in the bucket compared to what is awaiting us for the future. Agriculture-based, green-energy use and production in Ohio is a sleeping giant whose potential is just waiting to be tapped. Biofuels, biopolymers, and other bioproducts are a growing sector, but we’ve just been scratching the surface with what we can do.

People familiar with the nation’s ethanol industry know Ohio is the largest corn producing state without an ethanol plant, but that is changing. There are currently several ethanol plants in various stages of development across the state and close to 40 pumps available to the public.

Soon there will be ethanol and biodiesel facilities within the reach of every Ohio family. Biofuels, along with the newest wave of next generation energies, including fuel cells, clean coal, and renewable sources such as wind and cellulosic materials, offer us the opportunity to create jobs, support our farmers, reduce our dependence on foreign oil producers, and be responsible stewards of our environment.

But we have to look at projects that fully integrate the added value of agricultural products on our local communities. By-products from new agricultural ventures such as ethanol plants, including dried distillers grain and carbon dioxide, can be used to support other processing enterprises.

For example, in Harrison County, there is an ethanol project that will use one of its by-products as feed for a connected livestock operation. And, the animal waste from that operation will go to a methane digester that can supply energy for the ethanol plant.

Fewer resources will create more economic value and protect the environment at the same time.

As a major manufacturing state, Ohio is a significant user of energy and materials which we depend on others to supply.

Ohio farmers and agribusinesses can produce and convert biomass to supply major portions of this material demand as a substitute for petroleum.

Another untapped opportunity is in the area of biopolymer production.

There is exciting new research being conducted at The Ohio State University in which natural rubber, a polymer, is being made from plants which could lead to new markets for farmers, decreased prices for consumers and a cleaner environment for everyone.

Ohio’s polymer industry, which creates items like coatings, rubber, adhesives, and detergents, houses more than 2,800 companies and is the largest in the nation. Because of Ohio’s strong agriculture ties, there is huge opportunity to create a strong bond between the agriculture industry and the polymer industry to use agricultural materials and recycle natural waste to produce biopolymers.

Imagine our future with agricultural-based chemicals, soy-based lubricant additives, and biodegradable adhesives and plastics made with our home-grown corn, soybeans, switch grass and other natural or cellulosic materials.

I am convinced that these advanced technologies, when used in concert with our already environmentally-friendly agriculture industry, are a large part of the answer to our dependence on outside energy and foreign oil, and will enhance our ability to sustain responsible agriculture. Both of these strengths will make Ohio a better place to live and work.

As we celebrate Earth Day on April 22, I ask that you remember our farmers and our agriculture industry who view every day as “Earth Day” and who are laying the foundation for Ohio to help fuel the next green energy generation.

By Robert J. Boggs, Director
Ohio Department of Agriculture