Environment Task Force Newsletter
Ohio State University Extension
Spring, 1997, v1 #1

Environmental Tools For Farmers

As with anything else, the proper tools make all the difference.

By Larry Ault, Northeast District Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Specialist

With the right tools, Ohio farmers can make a positive impact on the environment.

Canadian farmers just north of Ohio in the province of Ontario joined forces to protect the environment around their farming operations. After researching causes of environmental decline, they developed a tool that farmers can use to analyze their operations and minimize potential impact -- the Ontario Environmental Farm Plan (OEFP).

The broad-based program helps farm operators identify areas of environmental concern on their land and points out ways to correct these concerns. An OEFP notebook helps farmers evaluate the impact of their various practices and allows operators to make changes at their own pace that will improve the environment on and near their farms.

Another tool farm operators can use to identify and reduce environmental impacts is a computerized program called PLANETOR. The program leads producers through a series of steps that identify crop and livestock production practices and their outcomes. By entering "what if" scenarios, operators can select practices that are more economically and environmentally sound for their operation.

Farmers also can rely on the tools of their local team of farm management professionals -- Ohio State University Extension county agents, Natural Resources Conservation Service personnel, and Soil and Water Conservation District employees -- to learn techniques that will help protect the environment around farm operations. This team of agricultural professionals, along with private industry agronomists, nutritionists, conservationists and others interested in environmental and economical practices, can help Ohio farm operators evaluate potential methods to conserve and preserve their rural way of life.

For more information on the Ontario Environmental Farm Plan, call Brent Kennedy, OEFP technical coordinator at the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs at (519) 826-3582, or for a copy of the OEFP notebook call the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association at (519) 826-4216. For more information on using PLANETOR, contact your local Extension office and ask how you can get a PLANETOR computer analysis.