e,” McGrath said. “We’re going though all of the painful steps to improve water quality and if what they are making us do doesn’t really improve water quality, they will come back in 20 years and say, ‘Ag you cheated us. You told us you put in cover crops but you must not have because water quality is not better.’ I tell farmers they need to be cautious to make sure what they are doing is truly improving water quality so we don’t find ourselves in this predicament in 20 years.”
As Ohio agriculture begins to move down the path of water quality improvements, McGrath points out how important it is for farmers to be very involved with the process.
“In Ohio, regulations are being based upon direct water quality measurements, which is a positive. I think farmers always benefit when true science and true data are involved in the process. I know that some farmers are scared to get involved with this, but it really helps,” he said. “I always encourage farmers to be involved in the science and in the policy discourse. These broad laws across the state do not work for farmers and they do not work for improving water quality.”