Local Farmers to be Honored During Ross SWCD Annual Meeting

The Ross Soil and Water Conservation District welcomes Ross County Auditor Tom Spetnagel, Jr. to the district’s annual meeting. 


Spetnagel is the featured speaker at the event themed “Claiming Conservation Acres.” Changes to the CAUV (current agricultural use valuation) formula now provide incentives for land in conservation. 


Spetnagel will walk through the major changes to CAUV when he addresses the district’s annual meeting on August 23rd at 6:30 p.m. Admission is $10 to the banquet at the Ross County Service Center which will be catered by the popular Seven Miles Smokehouse. 


Anyone interested in attending should make reservations by calling the conservation district at 740-772-4110 by August 17th or visiting the district web page at www.rosscountyswcd.org/annual-meeting


The annual meeting date is also election day for the district board of supervisors. There are three candidates running for two open seats: Trent Downs, Richard Hurtt, and Pam Petzel Snyder. In person voting is immediately before the banquet from 5:15 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Information about absentee voting is available now at the district web page at www.rosscountyswcd.org/district-election. Board of Supervisors chairman Mark Ault and vice chairman Troy Junk are stepping down after six years of service. 


The district will also recognize two Ross County farms at the banquet. The district’s cooperator of year award will be presented to Linda Hilsheimer and Hilsheimer Farms in Huntington Township. The farm installed conservation practices like grassed waterways and sub-surface drainage in 2017. Linda also rents farmland not reserved for pastureland and a hayfield to a large producer who practices no-till farming on nearly 500 acres. 


Four generations of the Calvin Peterson family farm in Concord Township will receive special recognition for enrolling in the Ohio’s Historic Family Farms Program and earning a bicentennial designation. The Petersons found a deed for the family farm dating back to 1813. The Peterson farm is one of fourteen Ross County farms enrolled in the program and one of six in Ross County with the bicentennial designation. Ohio Department of Agriculture director David Daniels is scheduled to present a certificate to the Peterson family at the banquet. 


The Ross Soil and Water Conservation District assists farmers with conservation practices that prevent soil erosion and the district assists all residents with drainage and erosion issues. The annual meeting and election are held each year as part of governance for the district as a geographical subdivision of the State of Ohio. Ross county residents can find more information at the district website www.rosscountyswcd.org or by calling 740-772-4110 and visiting the district office in the Ross County Service Center on Western Avenue.


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