Local agriculture helps put food on the table this Thanksgiving

0

In this turkey carving season we often forget our role in putting the Thanksgiving meal on the table. In western Ohio, we are blessed with so many fine farming families, and many working individuals who help to export our agricultural products to the world. The truth is this Thanksgiving that much of the food got its start on our farms in western Ohio.

Ohio is an agricultural leader in the United States. One in seven Ohioans has an agricultural-related job, providing career opportunities for over 1.7 million citizens. Not only are Ohioans working in the agricultural sector, but western Ohio will raise and process the most livestock in the state.

The 84th House District accounts for almost 15 percent of Ohio’s crop, livestock and agricultural marketing receipts. In Ohio, there are a little over 2.2 million hogs and 5.1 million turkeys, and more of them are raised on our local farms than anywhere else. Additionally, there are 1.5 million turkeys residing in Mercer County alone.

Last year over 300,000 turkeys were raised in Darke County. Shelby County produced over 100,000 turkeys last year and accounted for 101,760 hogs. In Auglaize County, over one hundred thousand hogs are raised annually. West central Ohio is a key component in food production.

We can attribute our agricultural success to all the fine companies that have entrusted us to raise food for their brand and consumers. Some of the largest contributors to this success include Dannon Yogurt, Weaver Brothers and Cooper Farms, home of the 2014 turkeys used for the official Presidential Pardon, which came from a farm in Mercer County.

This Thanksgiving, take a moment to look around your table and account for how much of your family meal has been raised locally here in western Ohio.

As always, please give me your opinion on this topic and other issues in the news by completing a brief online survey at tinyurl.com/buchynovember2015

This undated photo provided by the Ohio House of Representatives shows Rep. Jim Buchy. he Ohio House is expected to consider a bill that would shield the names of companies that provide the state with lethal injection drugs. Buchy is one of the bills sponsors. The bill is among several the House planned to vote on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014 as lawmakers finish work for the two-year legislative session. The Senate passed it last week. (AP Photo/Ohio House of Representatives)
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2015/11/web1_18f02dca703f7e31680f6a70670044352.jpgThis undated photo provided by the Ohio House of Representatives shows Rep. Jim Buchy. he Ohio House is expected to consider a bill that would shield the names of companies that provide the state with lethal injection drugs. Buchy is one of the bills sponsors. The bill is among several the House planned to vote on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014 as lawmakers finish work for the two-year legislative session. The Senate passed it last week. (AP Photo/Ohio House of Representatives)

By Rep. Jim Buchy

Rep. Jim Buchy can be reached by emailing [email protected] or calling 614-446-6344. Viewpoints expressed in the article are the work of the author. The Daily Advocate does not endorse these viewpoints or the independent activities of the author.

No posts to display