Highland County Farm Tour

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Four local specialty farms will be featured when Highland County Farm Bureau and the Highland Soil & Water Conservation District team up to present the third annual Highland County Farm Tour on Saturday, Sept. 17

The event is free, open to the public and begins at 10 a.m. at Carr Farms on Taylorsville Road.

“It’s a collaborative effort between the Farm Bureau and Highland Soil and Water Conservation District where we’re trying to showcase farms in the community and touch on some of the unique niches we have here in Highland County,” said Pam Bushelman, Highland SWCD district operations manager. “We’ll highlight some of the water conservation taking place, tie it all in together, and offer people who haven’t maybe been able to see one of these farms in action the opportunity to do that.”

After introductions at the first site, those attending the tour will learn how seed is being treated to protect crops and enhance development. There will also be a program on the Ohio Century Farms later in the day. The group will then load up on the trailers and ride and head to the next stop.

The second stop will be a farm owned by Nathon and Brooke Montgomery on South Sanders Road. The group will tour the farm’s solar panels that are being used to harness the limitless resources that represent a viable and sustainable future.

The third stop will be at the Nave Farms, also on South Sanders Road. The group will tour the 22-acre burley tobacco farm and learn about the basic management practices for the float plant system, which offers several advantages over traditional ground tobacco beds.

The fourth stop will be at the Carraher Ag Farms on Stringtown Road. The group will tour a 400,000 bushel grain bin constructed in 2014 and learn about the technical rope rescue procedures from the Highland County Grain Bin Rescue Team.

For safety purposes, children required to ride in car restraints must ride in personal vehicles with car seats and all individuals will be required to sign a waiver to join the tour. Bushelman said the rest of the group will travel from farm to farm on gooseneck trailers.

Lunch will be provided during the tour. There is no cost; however, preregistration is required. Call the Highland SWCD office at 937-393-1922 ext. 3 by the deadline of Sept. 12. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visit www.ofbf.org/counties/highland or www.highlandswcd.com for more details.

Ohio’s First Conservation District formed in 1942. The purpose of the districts is to take technical, financial and educational resources, whatever their source, and focus or coordinate them so that they meet the needs of the local land manager with conservation of soil, water and related natural resources.

The Highland Soil and Water Conservation District office is located at 514 Harry Sauner Road, Suite 2, Hillsboro. Its mission statement is to protect natural resources while meeting the needs of the citizens of Highland County and promoting the wise use of natural resources through the use of technical and educational assistance with available funds.

Reach Jeff Gilliland at 937-402-2522 or on Twitter @13gillilandj.

John Abell, far left, of Blue Ribbon Farms speaks to the crowd at last year’s Highland County Farm Tour.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/33/2016/08/web1_Farm-Tour-pic-1.jpgJohn Abell, far left, of Blue Ribbon Farms speaks to the crowd at last year’s Highland County Farm Tour.
Third annual event will be held Sept. 17

By Jeff Gilliland

[email protected]

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