I am writing in response to Grace and TonyWoodruff's Sept. 13 column questioning the Boerman Carroll dairy development. I would like to balance the ongoing conversation so readers can draw conclusions about large-scale dairy farms with information from both sides of the debate. Close attention to the debate is important to the future of the region. But close attention to the facts about large-scale dairy farming is more important.

As is the case with all the dairies our company develops, the family that operates the Boerman-Carroll farm, the Arendsens, will live on or near it and become part of the community's fabric. The Arendsens will send their children to the local schools, shop at the local stores and do business with local vendors. The suggestion that the Boerman farm will be controlled by outsiders who have less responsibility to the community is just plain wrong.

In recent years, many farmers have sold their land to pursue alternative occupations, or for commercial or residential development, because of unpredictable crop returns and expanding development from urban centers. When our company establishes a dairy, one of the first things our farmers do is seek cooperative working agreements with other area farmers. Our farmers want the peace of mind of knowing they have a regular supplier of feed for their herd, just as crop farmers like the peace of mind that comes from knowing unpredictable grain markets will not affect their income. The farmers also help each other recycle manure; its nutrients make it a marketable product which crop farmers like to use as fertilizer. These cooperative relationships demonstrate the ongoing cycle of production and consumption, the profits from which are reinvested in the local economy.

Some people believe large farms have driven smaller farms out of business. The fact is the large farms are filling a void created as smaller farms sell their operations. The large farms actually strengthen the dairy infrastructure for the remaining small farms, creating a level of service availability that has diminished over the last 30-40 years. Independent businesses that specialize in nutrient application, heifer raising, crop harvesting and hay making, as well as veterinary care, breeding services and equipment suppliers, all flourish in proportion to the total number of cows they service in a region, not the number of farms.

Studies conducted in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania show that every cow generates $13,000 of economic activity per year. It is estimated that our farmers spend a combined $125 million each year to purchase the goods and services required to operate their farms. The combined property taxes our farmers generate currently exceed $1 million each year. In the states where our farmers operate, the combined farms employ nearly 370 people who earn in excess of $14 million. Rather than be a drain on the community, we expect to contribute to it significantly.

The Arendsens will draw their drinking, cooking and bathing water from the same aquifers that service the farm's operations. Quality groundwater is essential to our operations, because the cows need clean, fresh water to sustain milk production. Dairy is one of the most regulated and inspected industries in agriculture, and as such, our farmers must follow strict state and local water quality regulations. Government agencies regularly inspect and test the water to make sure our farmers are doing what they're supposed to do.

Our farmers make every possible effort to ensure their cows are comfortable because an uncomfortable cow will not produce milk. Cows are kept in spacious, open-ended barns that have adjustable side curtains to promote ventilation. In the summer, overhead fans circulate the air to keep the cows cool. Keeping cows in these barns protects them from weather extremes in the heat of summer and the cold of winter. Inside the barns, the cows roam free in large pens, eat and drink from a constant supply of food and water, and rest on beds of sand, which keep them cleaner and drier than other forms of livestock bedding.

Unlike some other products, milk cannot be sold if it contains antibiotics. In fact, all milk must be tested before it is sold and it is rejected if even a trace of antibiotics is detected. Therefore, farmers only give cows antibiotics when they are ill, similar to human use of antibiotics. When antibiotics are administered to a cow, that animal is taken out of the milking rotation and separated from the rest of the herd until it completes the course of medication and returns to health.

Protecting the environment has much more to do with proper farm management than the number of animals on the farm. When we begin the planning process for one of our farms, we do soil sampling to determine the most appropriate location for our manure lagoons. We look carefully at the types of soil on the farm, the terrain of the fields, soil moisture levels, and the distance from surface waters to determine where the lagoons will be placed. The storage lagoons are engineered and constructed to protect against leakage to the groundwater or nearby surface water. We exceed the construction requirements the Indiana Department of Environmental Management sets forth as its standard for manure lagoons.

It is just as important to our farmers to be good neighbors as it is to be first-rate milk producers. That's why the farms operate to the highest environmental standards in the states in which they operate. I have every confidence the Arendsen family will follow suit. The success of their business compels them to do so.

In regard to property value concerns, one study, conducted in 2003-2005 in Huntington County, Indiana, examined 127 properties sold during that period. Nine of these properties were within a two-mile radius of four major dairy operations and these nine properties were sold at a 20% higher price per square foot than the other rural properties. Additionally, the properties located within a two-mile radius of the dairy farms were on the market for a shorter period of time.

We would welcome the opportunity to show you how clean and pleasant our dairy farms actually are. Seeing one in person could very well allay your fears. If you would like to visit one of the farms, feel free to call my office to schedule an appointment. I can be reached at (419) 337-5000.

Cecilia Conway, Director of Customer Relations Vreba-Hoff Dairy Development

Wauseon, Ohio