"Like it or not, agriculture is the industry in Carroll County." These words were expressed at the Area Plan Commission meeting last Monday evening (April 24), and are important to remember as we consider the future of our county.

Carroll County needs economic development if its residents are to maintain the quality of life they have come to expect. Carroll County doesn't have a city like Frankfort, Lafayette, or Kokomo. Carroll County doesn't have much in the way of heavy industry, and cannot easily attract new industry.

Carroll County does have some of the most fertile soil in the state, and some of the sharpest minds in the agriculture industry. Carroll County is among the top ten counties in the State of Indiana for agriculture production, crop yield and swine production. Carroll County used to be the top swine producing county in the nation. Agriculture development is a natural opportunity for Carroll County.

To listen to the anti-farming folk, you would think that all our streams are polluted, and all you smell on a sunny spring morning is the stench of manure. Not in my backyard, and I have lived less than 1/4 mile from one set of hog barns, and about 1/2 mile from another set of hog barns for most of my life. But, don't ask me, ask my Elkhart-native husband. He will tell you that he rarely smells the two hog operations near us, and has never complained about living in the country for nearly 15 of our 18 years of marriage.

To listen to the anti-farming folk, you would think that farmers are only out for a buck, and they will dump manure anywhere and apply massive amounts of chemicals on the fields, regardless of where it might end up in the ecosystem. The anti-farming folk portray their farming neighbors as ignorant hicks, who neither know nor care about the impact their farm operations have on the environment or the neighbors.

How wrong they are!

Despite the tremendous technological advancements in farming over the past thirty years, a career in agriculture is hard work requiring perseverance and intelligence. Every aspect of farming is permeated by government regulation. Crop farmers are required to test their soil regularly and keep careful records of the chemicals applied where, when, how and how much. Farmers are required by law to maintain a certain distance from homes, streams, open ditches and wells when applying chemicals and manure. Application of chemicals and fertilizer is constantly adjusted to produce the most fertile soil and highest yield possible with the least amount of chemicals.

Think about it: Would Carroll County post record crop yields, year after year, if farmers abused and burned the soil with over-applied manure and chemicals? Would any sane farmer abuse the land that grows the product that pays the bills? Would any sane farmer pollute the water that runs to the well that supplies the house where the farmer's children live?

Regulation is even more strict in the livestock industry. The buildings, the land on which the buildings are located, and the land on which the waste will be distributed have to pass a rigorous government permit application process that costs the farmer thousands of dollars in geological and site surveys and engineering fees before the first nail is hammered. Records must be kept on how much waste is produced and when and where it is applied. Any spills must be recorded, including the procedure used for clean up. Farmers are heavily fined for violations.

Livestock farming is hard work! It's working with animals that can be stubborn, making sure they are fed and healthy, and cleaning up after them. It's never-ending paperwork for the government. It's constantly looking for ways to be more efficient and to coax a better product with fewer resources and ever-increasing costs.

There is an important relationship between livestock and crop farming. The crops feed the livestock, and the livestock waste feeds the crops as fertilizer. With both industries located in the same area, transportation costs are reduced and efficiencies increased for each, and farmers rely upon each other for mutual benefit.

Farmers aren't in the agriculture business to pollute the soil or water or run off the neighbors. Farmers are in the agriculture business because they love the land, and love working with animals, being their own boss, and accomplishing something from their own efforts. Farmers are good neighbors, and will work hard to preserve a relationship with those around them.

Yes, agriculture is the industry in Carroll County. The number of people who walk the field or the livestock barn may represent a small portion of Carroll County population, but agriculture touches every person in Carroll County, from the roughly 70% of county property taxes that comes directly from the agriculture industry and pays for our schools, roads, and government services, to the local businesses that exist solely to supply or buy from the farm industry, to the local grocery store, gas station, and pharmacy owners that sell to farmers.

Agriculture is the industry in Carroll County. Every farmer I've met, and every person that works to help farmers (the folks at the co-op, the parts supplier, the seed supplier, the banker, the insurance agent, the real estate agent and all the people that help a farmer get through the day), have something in common: they are good people who want the best for their family, their friends, their community and, of course, the land where they live. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Miriam Robeson, farmer and attorney,

Rural Carroll County