It's been like a bouncing ball in the Buckeye State. Rule proposals for confined animal feeding operations have bounced back and forth between 1,000 a.u. (animal units) and 10,000 a.u. All of the proposed regulations are for all livestock.
Ohio Pork Producers Council (OPPC) President Randy Brown of Nevada, OH, says at the 10,000 a.u. figure and larger, it wouldn't affect any pork producers in the state. He says it would hit a few large poultry operations.
Now the governor's office has entered the fray and suggested the rule should be at 1,000 a.u. or more so as to include all of the livestock operations in Ohio, says Dick Isler, executive vice president of OPPC. He expects a legislative proposal to be introduced later this year.
Included in the proposal is a provision that farms be required to have a certified livestock manager for manure handling, fly control, etc., says Isler. Legislation may be directed toward larger operations.
Early in the year, a lawmaker attempted to sneak through a moratorium on livestock feeding attached to another piece of legislation. It was quickly bounced out of the legislature, says Isler. Ohio's breeding herd is stable, according to the last Hogs and Pigs Report, with marketings 10% ahead of last year at this time.
