Ohio Gov. Strickland names appointments to Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board

COLUMBUS — Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland signed the legislation making the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board a reality March 31, and on April 6 he announced his 10 appointments to the board.

The governor’s appointments include: Tony Forshey, Leon Weaver, Jeff Wuebker, Bobby Moser, Jeffrey LeJeune, Harold Dates, Jerry Lahmers, Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, Robert Cole, and Stacey Atherton.

Forshey currently serves as the state veterinarian for the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

Weaver, of Montpelier, serves as the owner and operator of Bridgewater Dairy. He also serves as a member of the board of directors for the Ohio Livestock Coalition and the Ohio Dairy Industry Forum. He previously served as the president of the Ohio Dairy Industry Forum and as a professor at the University of California’s Veterinarian Medicine School. Weaver received a and a doctorate of veterinary medicine from the University of Pennsylvania in 1971.

Wuebker, of Versailles, has served as the co-owner of Wuebker Farms since 2001. He also serves as the president of the Ohio Soybean Association and is a member of the Ohio Corn Growers Association and the Ohio Cattleman’s Association.

He received a bachelor’s degree from the Ohio State University in 1993.

Moser is vice president for agricultural administration and the dean of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at the Ohio State University since 1991.

LeJeune, of Wooster, is an associate professor for Food and Animal Health at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center at the Ohio State University. He also serves as the chair of the Agriculture Animal Care and Use Committee at the Ohio State University. He received a bachelor’s degree from the Universite de Moncton and a doctorate of veterinary medicine from the University of Prince Edward Island. LeJeune also received a Ph.D. from Washington State University in 2000.

Dates, of Cincinnati, has served as the president and CEO of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Cincinnati since 1986.

Jerry Lahmers, of Newcomerstown, currently owns and operates a family farm that includes a cow/calf feedlot and grain operations. He previously served as a veterinarian who treated and cared for animals in Tuscarawas County for 29 years.

Hamler-Fugitt, of Reynoldsburg, currently serves as the executive director of the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks. She previously served as the public policy director and the statewide food and nutrition program coordinator for the Ohio Hunger Task Force.

Cole, of Gahanna, served in various roles for the USDA for over 33 years, including serving as the executive director of the USDA’s Franklin County Office and as acting state director in 2003. He retired from the U.S Department of Agriculture in 2003 and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the University of Dayton.

Atherton, of Newark, has served as the co-owner for Shipley Farms since 2009. She previously served as a manager for Shipley Farms from 2006-2009. She received a bachelor’s degree from the Ohio State University in 2006

In addition to the governor’s appointments, Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Robert Boggs serves on the 13-member board, as well a selection from both the House Speaker and Senate President.

Senate President Bill Harris has named Bill Moody, of Knox County, former deputy director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and family farmer.

Funding

The Ohio Department of Agriculture will absorb the cost of the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board including the cost of the investigations.

The bill also requires the director of agriculture to assist the board by helping perform the necessary duties to administer the bill.

Future hearings

The board will hold its initial meeting and then will schedule at least four public meetings across the state during the summer and have the standards ready by the fall. The public hearings will be to collect input the board can use to create standards.