Ohio ag chief fired in dispute over farms, Lake Erie algae
Siding with Ohio farmers instead of Gov. John Kasich over reducing field runoff of fertilizers that contribute to algal blooms in western Lake Erie apparently has cost Ohio Agriculture Director David Daniels his job.
Daniels, chosen director by Kasich in 2012, said he was summoned to the governor’s office Friday and dismissed without explanation less than three months short of Kasich departing office.
He believes that he was fired over his reservations about an executive order issued by Kasich on July 11 described as “aggressive new action” to require farmers to reduce the runoff of fertilizers that contribute to algae formations that foul Lake Erie.
“There are concerns the current proposal is unworkable . ... They (the governor’s office) were clear about the direction they wanted to go, and I expressed my concerns,” Daniels said. He pointed to a lack of information about what will work best to curtail fertilizer runoff into eight northwestern Ohio watersheds, including the Auglaize, Blanchard, St. Marys and Ottawa rivers.
“We all want the same thing,” Daniels said. “We all want clean water, and farmers want to be able to keep their nutrients on the ground.”
But there’s not enough available expertise, financial assistance and farm-specific information to help the owners of 7,000 farms come up with plans to manage and reduce fertilizer runoff, particularly phosphorus, he said.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture referred questions about Daniels’ departure to Kasich’s office, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kasich’s self-described bid to “kick (runoff ) efforts into overdrive” has stalled before the Ohio Soil and Water Conservation Commission, which has not acted on a necessary request to designate a portion of northwest Ohio as “watersheds in distress” to move forward with Kasich’s directive.
Citing widespread opposition from farmers, Daniels said, “there has to be industry buy-in” from Ohio’s agricultural interests to effectively reduce fertilizer runoff that can pollute Lake Erie drinking water and recreation.
Daniels said he believes conservation efforts, such as planting winter “cover crops” and planting buffer strips between fields and waterways, can help reduce runoff and should be pursued.
Ohio Farm Bureau spokesman Joe Cornely said farmers have “expressed a lot of reservations about (Kasich’s) order and have tried to communicate to the administration what those reservations are.”
“There’s a lack of solid, reliable data on what steps actually will work,” he said. “The problem with the governor’s order is that it throws out all these steps to be taken, but we don’t know if it will work.”
While declining to comment on Daniels’ dismissal, Cornely said: “There’s no doubt Dave Daniels had the best interests of Ohio agriculture in mind.”