News

Ohio dairy farmers pushing tax credit

Ohio dairy farmers are pursuing legislation to help relieve a stress point for livestock producers. 

Scott Higgins, CEO of the Ohio Dairy Producers Association (ODPA) tells Brownfield their proposal to help livestock farmers finance additional manure storage is with a refundable tax credit. 

“We are seeking a 50% refund, 10% a year for five years after that investment’s made,” said Higgins. “We believe that would help take the pressure off.” 

Higgins says such a move would not only help small and medium size farms remain in compliance, but for many, it would help them stay in business.

“We’ve looked at the numbers, we know what it costs to put new manure storage facilities in to help these small operators go from a daily manure haul to be able to sustain a four to six month storage capacity,” Higgins said. “It can range as much as $1,000 per cow, so you take a small farm of 100 cows and a $100,000 investment can be very trying, in fact it could be enough to put a farmer out of business.”

Audio: Scott Higgins, CEO, Ohio Dairy Producers Assn.