Ashland County farm family receives Environmental Stewardship Award
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Carl and Janet Ayers, Steve and Deb Ayers, Nate and Kathy Davis and Jesse Ayers of Ayers Farm Incorporated in Perrysville have been named winners of the 2009 Environmental Stewardship Award by the Ohio Dairy Producers Association and the Ohio Livestock Coalition (OLC).
The Environmental Stewardship Award annually recognizes the many accomplishments made by family farmers to protect the environment and conserve natural resources.
The Ayers use no-till practices in a plan to achieve optimum crop production through reduced erosion and increase organic matter in their farm's soil. They maintain sod waterways, watershed control basins and dry dams to slow and control the flow of runoff water, and have stabilized stream banks by controlling grazing and using vegetative cover. They utilize a comprehensive nutrient management plan (CNMP) to make the best use of their manure as fertilizer, and have installed a sand bedding recycling system.
They have also applied improvement practices on their wooded areas and periodically harvest mature trees for timber production. In the milking parlor, they've installed a more efficient variable speed vacuum pump, milk pumps and heat recovery systems in their milk refrigeration equipment.
For their accomplishments the Ayers received a plaque from the Ohio Dairy Producers Association and a proclamation of congratulations and recognition of their commitment to the basic principles of environmental and natural resource stewardship from Gov. Ted Strickland.
"Ayers Farm has incorporated various management practices that protect and enhance the environment and precious natural resources while ensuring productivity and profitability," said Ohio Livestock Executive Director Sandy Kuhn. "In doing so, they have minimized their operation's footprint on the environment by working to preserve and improve water and air quality, to protect the land and to promote wildlife."
OLC coordinates the Environmental Stewardship awards program while seven cooperating member organizations ’Äì the Ohio Cattlemen's Association, Ohio Dairy Producers Association, Ohio Pork Producers Council, Ohio Poultry Association, Ohio Sheep Improvement Association, Ohio Soybean Association and Ohio Corn Growers Association ’Äì sponsor the individual commodity awards along with Ohio's Country Journal.