By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Mark Drewes tried to convince the Wood County Commissioners Tuesday to not fall for claims by city folk that farmers don’t care about the region’s water. He asked that the commissioners not jump on board with other regional officials asking that Lake Erie be designated as “impaired.”
The self-professed “simple farmer” sat down in front of the county commissioners and handed out his charts showing phosphorus runoff rates, county livestock populations and maps of extensive soil sampling on his farm.
The water issue became a very public matter in 2014 when the algae rendered Toledo water undrinkable for a few days. But according to Drewes, who farms near Hoytville in the southwest corner of Wood County, the water issue had already been a hot topic for the agricultural community.
“We’ve been talking about it for years,” he said. “This problem is the No. 1 problem we face as farmers in Wood County.”
But declaring the lake “impaired” will only make matters worse, the farmer said.
“That is a very drastic measure,” said Drewes, who farms corn, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa. He also works closely with large livestock operations, and serves on the Ohio Corn Growers Board.
Drewes said he was troubled to see Toledo Councilman Mike Ferner ask the commissioners to help declare the lake as impaired, while implying that farmers don’t care about the water. “That’s absolutely incorrect,” he said. Drewes’ family has farmed the land for generations – and plans to continue for many more. So the water quality is important to them as well.
“It’s something we think about every day,” he said.
Both commissioners Joel Kuhlman and Craig LaHote asked Drewes how the “impaired” designation would hurt farmers – especially if they are already doing all they can to reduce algal blooms.
If the lake is declared impaired, scientific studies will be conducted to determine where the phosphorus is originating.
“We want to know where it’s coming from, so it can be addressed,” Kuhlman said.
LaHote said that agriculture could benefit if studies show farm phosphorus isn’t as much of the problem as suspected.
But Drewes said was skeptical of any studies.
“Impaired status will push agriculture to its breaking point. We are regulated beyond belief,” he said. “Let’s figure this thing out before we attack it. Let’s not attack it, then figure it out.”
But Kuhlman said the impaired designation would require that scientific studies be done to track the highest sources – before attacking them.
“I completely agree we need to understand the problem,” LaHote said. And if the EPA does not coordinate the study – what agency will, he asked.
Drewes said the USDA and ODA are already working on it.
“We have taken ownership of this,” Drewes said. But farmers shouldn’t bear all the burden, he added. “I truly believe in my heart that 99 percent of the farmers are doing what’s right.”
Meanwhile, city wastewater systems are allowed to pump raw sewage into waterways during periods of heavy rains, and faulty private septic systems all over the region are sending sewage into ditches and the lake.
“The political willpower is not there to fix that,” he said. “They look at agriculture as the easy low-hanging fruit.”
Making a formal declaration of the lake’s “impaired” status would hurt the farming community with no guarantee it would help the lake.
“Before we go to the Draconian step” of declaring the lake impaired, farmers should be trusted to continue working to solve the problem.
“Self-imposed controls are going to be more effective,” than putting it in the hands of the EPA, he said. “The EPA scares the bejeebers out of me.”
Drewes isn’t afraid of the regulations that might be imposed, but rather the paperwork that would be required. “It would be a regulatory nightmare. You will see farmers leave the business.”
Drewes also believes that concentrated animal feeding operations are being maligned by people who don’t have accurate information. Manure applications to fields are monitored, and account for just a quarter of Lake Erie phosphorus, he said.
“To single out CAFOs” as the source of the problem is wrong, he said. “It’s the most heavily regulated agricultural operation I’ve ever seen.”
Commercial fertilizer dealers are also working to be part of the solution, with emphasis on the “4Rs” of applying the right product, at the right rate, at the right time, in the right place. Restrictions are in place banning manure application on frozen or snow covered ground, and those people applying fertilizer must be licensed, Drewes said.
But urban politicians, Drewes said, seem to have the attitude of “By God, we’re going to show these dumb farmers how to take care of this.”
Drewes explained that farmers no longer apply fertilizer or manure “like grandpa did.” He showed maps of 77 acres next to his Jackson Township home, where soil samples are taken in every 2.5 acres.
Drewes pointed to his charts showing how phosphorus, which feeds the algal blooms, hit a low in Lake Erie in 1993, then started a steady rise from there.
“We don’t know why,” there has been an increase since many farmers have really reduced the phosphorus applied to fields. “We all sit back and look at our operations and say, ‘What are we doing wrong here?’”
“I apply less phosphorus today than I ever have,” and he’s not alone in that practice, he said.
“If we’re part of the problem, I want to know it and I want to be part of the solution,” Drewes said.
Kuhlman assured Drewes that the county commissioners realize that agriculture is a competitive industry, with today’s farmers needing to know chemistry, biology, technology and mechanics. There is no such thing as a “simple farmer” anymore.
“We do understand that here,” Kuhlman said.
