This has been an excellent fall for harvesting crops, but as we enter the winter season, additional challenges come with living on a farm. As the growing season comes to an end and the weather turns to rain and cold, management of our farms also changes. Mud is here to stay until the summer or the occasional winter freeze. Feeding becomes more time intensive due to lack of growing grass. Animals are often confined to heavy use pads or barns, which collect manure and have to be managed. There is also the worry of that gully blowing out during a winter rain before crops can be planted in the spring. With all this added stress, we also have to be mindful of laws regarding nutrient and sediment runoff into our streams.
I encourage you to take note of all the hardships this winter and assess your operation. What can be done to improve your situation? Are there better ways to deal with the mud? Need a solution to that field gully? How about better ways to deal with manure? Our office is available to help you in this assessment and find solutions that best meet your needs. Maybe you could benefit from incentive programs with NRCS. Below are some guidelines to keep us from visiting your property for the wrong reasons, by knowing your responsibility and adhering to the Ohio Ag Pollution Laws.
