Buffer Ohio Award Winner- Tom & Fred Miller

News Release
For Release: Wednesday, January 23, 2002
Columbus, Ohio

Tom and Fred Miller of Bucyrus were recognized today as one of ten statewide Buffer Ohio Award Winners. The award was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

Buffer Ohio is a statewide awards program, which recognizes exceptional landowners who have done an outstanding job of applying and maintaining conservation buffer practices to the Ohio landscape. It is co-sponsored by Ohio Farm Bureau, Ohio Corn Growers, Pheasants Forever, ODNR Division of Wildlife, ODNR Division of Forestry, ODNR Division of Soil and Water Conservation, Ohio Wetlands Foundation, Nature Conservancy, Ohio Soybean Association, National Conservation Buffer Council, USDA Farm Service Agency, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and the Lake Erie Buffer Team.

Conservation buffer practices include grass filter strips, riparian tree plantings, sod waterways, wetland restorations, and windbreaks. They are a fundamental part of the conservation effort to protect and enhance Ohio’s precious soil, water, plant, and animal resources. Buffer practices provide improved agricultural production, erosion control, water quality, and wildlife habitat benefits. Buffer areas trap sediment, nutrients, pesticides, provide food and cover for wildlife, and increase plant and animal diversity.

Tom and Fred Miller were recognized for their work in installing conservation buffer practices. The Miller brothers were one of the first in Crawford County to install filter strips along the rivers and ditches on their farm. They have installed over 40 acres of filter strips, over half of those acres being in alluvial soils along the headwaters of the Little Scioto River and the remaining acres of filter strips being along smaller ditches on their farms. Tom and Fred’s goals are to establish filter strips on all the ditches and streams on their farms. Besides filter strips, they use no-till methods when planting soybeans and wheat. Tom and Fred have aided in educating the public about filter strips and no-till methods because their farms are very visible to the public and they were one of the first to install filter strips, as a result many of their neighbors have installed filter strips on the Little Scioto River. Tom and Fred Miller have done an excellent job of applying and maintaining the conservation buffer practices installed as well as educating the public about those practices.

As part of the award Tom and Fred Miller received a cash award, recognition plaque, and Buffer Ohio Jacket. Award recipients were selected based on a review of their conservation buffer accomplishments. Judging was done by a committee of the Buffer Ohio Partner Organizations.

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