Farms.com Home   Ag Industry News

Ohio Department of Ag meeting with farmers following train derailment

Ohio Department of Ag meeting with farmers following train derailment

The meeting is scheduled for 2pm on March 9

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Top photo: NTSB

The Ohio Department of Agriculture is meeting with farmers in East Palestine this week following a train incident in the community on Feb. 3.

On that day, a Norfolk Southern train carrying 151 cars, 20 of which with hazardous materials, derailed. A total of 51 cars derailed, 11 of which were loaded with hazardous cargo.

State ag officials will meet with farmers on March 9 at the Emmanuel Lutheran Church Education Building (251 S. Broadway Ave. in Salem) beginning at 2:00 p.m.

Farms.com confirmed with the ag department that Director Brian Baldridge, State Veterinarian Dr. Dennis Summers and the department's East Palestine Response Coordinator, David Miran, will be in attendance.

The department is confident farmers can produce crops normally this season.

“Although the Ohio Department of Agriculture currently has no reason to believe that crops planted in soil in the area of East Palestine are not safe for consumption, the agency will host a roundtable discussion with East Palestine area farmers on Thursday afternoon to discuss concerns about the upcoming planting season,” a March 7 update from the Ohio Emergency Management Agency says.

Some farms are already feeling the effects of the train accident.

Lamppost Farm in Columbiana, about eight miles from the accident site, produces meat products and uses agriculture to teach about health and wellness.

Other farms it does business with are changing plans, which affects Lamppost’s operations.

“I just talked to a friend that I was (going to) buy cattle from who has cattle about 3 and a half miles from the derailment site and he’s canceling butcher dates out of fear of not wanting to produce (or) provide a product for his customers and I mean that’s a ripple effect all around,” Steve Montgomery, executive director of Lamppost Farm, told WOIO. “I can’t buy his cattle from him now because of that. We won’t be able to produce that for our customers.”

Norfolk Southern is supporting farmers in the area.

The Environmental Protection Agency mandated the railway come up with a soil sampling plan for farmers and residents.

Farms.com has contacted an Ohio producer who is attending the meeting and will speak with the farmer after the meeting.


Trending Video

The Future of Regenerative Agriculture

Video: The Future of Regenerative Agriculture

Many Canadian producers and buyers have started to use the term regenerative agriculture. In this webinar we explore why this term is gaining traction and what the future holds. Will regenerative agriculture follow the path of other sustainability claims such as organic and fair trade? Our panelists will explore some of the thorny issues that proponents already face or that they may soon encounter. For example, how will the regenerative agriculture retain its integrity in the minds of consumers? is it scalable? Who will pay farmers for their environmental stewardship?