Census

I found an interactive 2010 census map for Ohio that I found interesting.

We farm in Clinton and Highland Counties and LuAnn works in Highland County. Both counties have about 42,000 each. There are lots of data similarities between our two counties.

We live in Clark Township and you can see the break down of our census data.

You go east of us, you get more rural. You go west or north of us and you quickly get into counties with twice to many more times as many people as our two rural counties. You find that all across the United States, too.

When I was a kid, Clinton was the big hog and corn county like you would find in states west of us. Almost every farm had hogs and cattle. Now the hogs and cattle are all gone and soybeans have taken many corn acres in just 40 years. I think there are two outfits raising confinement hogs in the county now and just a few barns full.

Almost every farmer in Ohio milked cows at that time and that has all shifted, too. There is one little dairy farmer left near me with 50 cows and he is about ready to retire. He has fought those cows all his life which is really coddling but cows don't give milk, you have to steal it from them!

We really take our farmers and our rural life for granted. We are quite lucky to have both, most of the world does not and that makes us the envy of many people.

Spring is next week and moved our clocks forward one hour last night. The first bulbs are pushing stems and this is National Agriculture Week. They have even moved National Agriculture Day up by a week to coincide with our efforts in Washington D.C. this week. I hope the world tradegies don't overshadow them.

It's important we don't forget our food system by those who produce them and especially our rural way of life here in Clinton County.

Ed Winkle