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Ken Schilling's modest farm sits in the middle of Oak Grove, with residential areas all around. Schilling and his wife, Janet, own a few heads of Angus and Gelbvieh beef cows and calves, two of which were just born. The couple also sell high quality alfalfa hay.
Schilling, who is a Muskingum Township trustee, said he grew up on a dairy farm and has been involved in farming as a hobby.
"I've been in Oak Grove since 1977. My family owned these 35 acres here and we have always had cattle," he said.
"I take a lot of pride in my wonderful neighbors here because I'm sure not everyone appreciates the smell and the working late at night."
In a 2017 inventory conducted by the Ohio Farm Bureau, Washington County had 19,500 heads of cattle, 2,000 of which were dairy cows.
While Schilling does not make a living from his farm -- he is retired from Washington Electric Cooperative -- he has spent a lot of his life supporting farmers. For 18 years, he worked at Farm Credit Services and served for 15 years on the Washington County Fair Board.
"There is a lot of help for farmers around here, including Farm Credit, the commercial coop -- now Heritage -- the career center has its agribusiness, the Ohio Farm Bureau, Marcus (McCartney) at OSU Extension helps with certifications and licenses, and the (Washington) Soil Conservation District," he said.
Some of the major challenges for farmers in this area, as Schilling sees it, are pests like coyotes and bobcats that kill livestock, newer invasive pests and plants because of the rivers, hills and ecology, and dealing with bureaucracy.
"Today in farming you need a license for everything, from herbacide to fertilizer," he said. "I totally understand the need for the regulations and conservation requirements but it's a whole different world for farmers now."
A specific challenge that farmers out in the county struggle with is accessing technology.
Many areas of Washington County do not have access to broadband.
"It is a problem and we try to help the best we can, but a lot of our stuff is going more digital, especially since we just don't have the funds to send out mailings," said Marcus McCartney, OSU Extension Office agriculture and natural resource educator.
McCartney said he offers farmers an opportunity to use computers at the extension office but would like to see the infrastructure out in the county improved to allow for service.
Federal and state lawmakers are trying to tackle this issue with the Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018. It was introduced in January to the House Energy and Commerce committee and has been referred to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.
Agriculture
challenges
¯ Lack of technology/internet in some areas.
¯ Price of product is too low.
¯ Bureaucracy (regulations/conservation).
¯ Dealing with nuisance animals that destroy crops and livestock.
¯ Less acreage available to new farmers.
¯ Harder to entice younger generations.
¯ Ecological issues, pests, invasive species.
Source: Ken Schilling, Christie Haines, Times research.