Last night the Guardians of Grand Lake St. Marys hosted Jeff Rasawehr, a Mercer County farmer, who shared a method of producing better soil with microbiology. It was a very enlightening presentation and is a low cost solution for saving money for farmers. Rasaswehr stated that he is farming at $300/acre less than before he changed to this practice. He has even drank water straight from his field tiles because the water is so clean. I wonder how many farmers in our watershed can or would drink the water in their field tiles?
So why was Rasawehr approached by a county official and told not to give his presentation to the Guardians? Why are so many people in local and state government trying to prevent the Guardians from meeting? How is the Guardians dividing the community by showcasing a farming practice that is good for farmers, good for the environment and would help clean up the lake in 3-5 years? Why?
Mr. Rasawehr hit the nail on the head last night when he stated that over the past 20 years the farmers in the watershed have drawn down $250 million and they don't want to stop the gravy train that they have milked for years. And the government employees who dole out the money don't want to lose the power they have over the agricultural community.
The pollution problem at Grand Lake St. Marys is purely politically motivated and driven by greed. After the Dust Bowl, the government put in place the conservancy program that eventually became the Soil and Water Conservation District programs around the country. The Dust Bowl was a result of farmers being greedy and destroying the land for greater profits. History is repeating itself, only this time the greed of farmers in our watershed is destroying the public waterways and the Kasich Administration is standing by and refusing to make a sincere effort to clean up Grand Lake St. Marys.
Our federal, state and local government has done very little to stop farmers from polluting, and as a result, they have been a major contributor to the 40% of the national waterways that are now polluted.
Greed is destroying our lake and it is time for it to stop.
So why was Rasawehr approached by a county official and told not to give his presentation to the Guardians? Why are so many people in local and state government trying to prevent the Guardians from meeting? How is the Guardians dividing the community by showcasing a farming practice that is good for farmers, good for the environment and would help clean up the lake in 3-5 years? Why?
Mr. Rasawehr hit the nail on the head last night when he stated that over the past 20 years the farmers in the watershed have drawn down $250 million and they don't want to stop the gravy train that they have milked for years. And the government employees who dole out the money don't want to lose the power they have over the agricultural community.
The pollution problem at Grand Lake St. Marys is purely politically motivated and driven by greed. After the Dust Bowl, the government put in place the conservancy program that eventually became the Soil and Water Conservation District programs around the country. The Dust Bowl was a result of farmers being greedy and destroying the land for greater profits. History is repeating itself, only this time the greed of farmers in our watershed is destroying the public waterways and the Kasich Administration is standing by and refusing to make a sincere effort to clean up Grand Lake St. Marys.
Our federal, state and local government has done very little to stop farmers from polluting, and as a result, they have been a major contributor to the 40% of the national waterways that are now polluted.
Greed is destroying our lake and it is time for it to stop.