Comments from the CEO

Chris Henney shares updates on your association

3rd Quarter 2015 - 10/30/15

Harvest seems nearly complete after a beautiful autumn. I’ve enjoyed driving around the state the last few months as summer turned to fall, and Ohio’s farmers brought in the harvest. The last few months have been busy for us at OABA as well. I want to take a few minutes to share a few highlights with you.

As you know, this past August was the one year anniversary of the Toledo Water Crisis. We spent July preparing talking points for our members to prepare them for any dialogue with media or others related to the anniversary. With the increased rainfalls in June and July, algal blooms in Lake Erie were higher than predicted, but our materials highlighted all the good things that are happening in the world of nutrient management today, including the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certification Program and other activities. With the help of The Fertilizer Institute, I submitted an op-ed piece to the Toledo Blade, which you can read here.

Due to the increased rain and less wheat planted, both quantity and quality of the grain was down this year; a trend over the last several years. Through a partnership with the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association, we held a special wheat quality meeting in Findlay. The meeting was a success as we engaged elevators, retailers and wheat millers to identify and address issues around declining wheat acres and ideas for wheat quality programs.

We spent much of this quarter working with legislators on key issues in the industry. David Barrett, Doug Busdeker and I traveled to Washington, D.C. in July to lobby Ohio’s Congressional delegation. We met with seven members of Congress (in addition to the many aides), an OABA record for a single fly-in and a trend I hope continues with future visits. Here in Ohio, the House Agriculture and Rural Development Committee held a series of field hearings this summer. I provided testimony on the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Certification Program at the crop production hearing, and OABA member company Ag Info Tech testified at an earlier hearing on technology in agriculture.

Our Educational Trust Golf Outings this summer were a great success once again. Our golf events not only provide us an opportunity to raise significant funds to support college scholarships, but it is also a great networking event for member companies. Thank you OABA members for all your great support again this year related to educational giving. The OABA Educational Trust is working on some new opportunities to support students. We are excited about these opportunities and know you will be too. Look for more information in the coming months.

I’m happy to report we have a new intern who started at the end of August. Elizabeth Overholt will be with us through the current school year. She is a junior majoring in agricultural communications at The Ohio State University. Read more about Elizabeth here.

I appreciate our members’ support and participation with OABA. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have ideas, concerns or issues. You can reach me at 614-326-7520 or chenney@oaba.net. We are here for you!

-Chris