Former Toledo Mayor Hosts Town Hall on Water Quality

 

The Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative (OACI) recently participated in a virtual meeting hosted by Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo), who is also the former Mayor of the City of Toledo. This presentation was requested after OACI presented in front of the Ohio House Agriculture and Conservation Committee, which Rep. Hicks-Hudson is a member.

Why does it matter?

Rep. Hicks-Hudson and her constituents have been historically negative towards agriculture and our perceived role in Lake Erie’s water quality issues. Her invitation to have OACI share agriculture’s collective conservation priorities and progress in northwestern Ohio is a monumental win. She also offered these positive comments:

“I am really excited this evening to have what I consider the experts of collaboration, of people who are closest to this issue which concerns us up here in Northwest Ohio and across the state of Ohio. And that is how we can balance our need and desire for farm products: supplies, food, oil, and all of those other things that farmers are able to provide to us and still come together and have a way in which we also protect our water and our other resources.

I was fortunate last year when this collaboration came together and gave a presentation to the Ohio House Agricultural Committee. I knew and I believed very strongly that I wanted to bring everyone up here to Northwest Ohio and while the pandemic had a downside, it had a good upside, which is the ability for us to come together this evening for a Zoom town hall. This town hall is really to educate everyone, including to re-educate me, about all of the things that are being done under H2Ohio, under this collaboration and this coalition of experts.

It’s also for you to ask questions of these experts and see how we are going to move forward and get rid of the myths and the misunderstandings that are happening because I believe, as everyone else, is that we all want what’s best for the great state of Ohio not only for today, but for the future. – Ohio Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson, D-Toledo

ODPA is a member of OACI, and we are proud that their hard work is paying off — more than 2,000 farmers are enrolled in the program, representing over 2 million acres. Presentations to the House and Senate agriculture committees and this virtual Toledo-area event are important in educating key stakeholders on our progress. To learn more about OACI’s initiatives, read this recent article from Farm and Dairy.