Ohio farms aren’t overregulated

A recent letter claimed that Ohio family farms were disappearing due to “overregulation.” I doubt it. The drop in family (midsize) farm numbers started decades ago, before the EPA even existed. The reasons are many.

Retirement is one; a few years ago the average age of American farmers was 58. And fewer young folks today choose farming as a career. Drops in corn and soybean prices count, too. Bouncing interest rates, fuel and chemical prices and demands for development land play a role.

Today there are more giant farms and livestock operations owned by outof-state corporations and foreign owners (Europe, Asia and South America). Numbers of smaller farms have increased, too, with demand for organically raised food. (These facts can be found on the USDA website.)

Families and small businesses near Toledo, Grand Lake St. Mary’s and the Lake Erie shore might disagree that there’s “overregulation,” contending there isn’t any meaningful regulation. Their health and businesses were severely affected when fertilizer, manure and chemical residues entered Lake Erie from rivers and streams a few years ago. Most family farms do a solid job of preventing such problems. But some megafarms and massive foreign livestock and chicken operations hide behind them, claiming “overregulation.” This issue is yet unresolved. Without effective, fair regulation this problem isn’t going away.

Vincent Mazeika Columbus