Letter to the Editor
To the Editor:On behalf of the Tuscarawas County Chamber of Commerce, I would like to express our support for State Issue 2, which would create the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board. The board is a common-sense approach to setting standards governing the well-being of livestock and poultry in Ohio and will ensure thousands of Ohio farmers are able to remain in business and protect our state’s number one economic contributor: agriculture. Agriculture contributes $93 billion each year to Ohio’s economy and employs nearly one million Ohioans. As the state begins to emerge from the recent economic downturn, it is more important now than ever that we protect our farm community – because we cannot afford to suffer further employment and state revenue losses. The board would be made up of 13 Ohioans, who are experts in animal care, and it would consider issues of food safety, local availability and affordability of food and best farm management practices for animal care. It’s not as if our state’s businesses and farms welcome more regulation, but when regulation means that decisions are made by Ohio experts and not by out-of-state activist groups, that’s regulation they can support. Regulation from outside groups would only drive agriculture out of Ohio, which would force family farms out of work, and increase Ohio’s reliance on food production from other states and countries. For my employees and their families, ensuring a safe, local, low-cost food supply is the right thing to do. I hope you will join me on Nov. 3 in voting YES for Issue 2.
Jill R. McCartney, IOM
President/CEO
Tuscarawas County Chamber of Commerce