News & Notes November 2004

What the Ombudsman Program Does for Conservation Districts
An interview with Shelly Dehoff, Ombudsman

Through a program grant, the Lancaster County Conservation District employs a liaison, Shelly Dehoff, to conduct and facilitate meetings with conservation district staff and board members, the public, farmers, and county and municipal officials. Upon request, the PA Agricultural Ombudsman Program may provide services across Pennsylvania. PACD spoke with Ombudsman Shelly Dehoff about the PA Agricultural Ombudsman program and how Districts can benefit from it.

PACD: Why was the PA Agricultural Ombudsman Program developed?
Dehoff: The Ombudsman Program began as a three-county (Berks, Chester, Lancaster) pilot program designed to assist conservation districts with managing inquiries from a variety of general public constituencies and providing information services concerning nutrient management, farm siting, farm production expansions, and related issues.

PACD: How is the program funded?
Dehoff: The program is funded through a grant from the PA Department of Agriculture. The grant is held by the Lancaster, Chester and Berks Conservation Districts, although my actual employer is the Lancaster County Conservation District. Additional oversight is given from Chester and Berks Districts. Currently, I am the only one in Pennsylvania with this type of position, so I cover the state, as the need arises.

PACD: What does your job involve?
Dehoff: The Ombudsman Program is basically designed to handle public relations, education and conflict management related to agriculture. The goal is to work proactively with Districts, farmers, and municipalities, to alleviate complex or controversial situations. If the Ombudsman Program gets involved in the "reactive" phase, then the goal is to moderate, facilitate, educate, or otherwise deal with the situation, to minimize the controversy and frustrations.

PACD: Do you provide assistance for public meetings?
Dehoff: The Ombudsman Program can assist if a District is going to be taking action on a nutrient management plan that is expected to be controversial. The Ombudsman can work with the District Manager and Board to be sure they have a policy in place to conduct a well-run meeting, and feel comfortable sticking to that policy. This provides an opportunity for the public to voice their comments while maintaining order. An orderly meeting will keep things productive for the District, the farmer, and the public.

PACD: Does the Program focus only on large farming operations?
Dehoff: The Ombudsman Program advocates for agriculture and farming. It does not advocate for only large-scale farming, or only smaller farms, or only organic, or only non-organic. The Ombudsman does not advocate for contract farming, nor do I advocate against it. The focus is more on the fairness to agriculture, to work toward equitable reviews as compared to all other businesses in the township, and allowing proper time for input. The Ombudsman Program is working to ensure that farmers are allowed to farm in their townships in the future, no matter what the size or type of agriculture, provided they are following the legitimate rules and regulations that govern them.

PACD: What kind of educational programs do you provide?
Dehoff: The Ombudsman Program has offered three regional sessions for District, NRCS and Extension staff entitled, "Farm Related Odors - What Can Be Done?" The sessions focus on options for reducing odors from animal buildings, manure storage and application. More sessions will probably be offered in the future.

The Ombudsman also works with Districts to organize and offer educational sessions for the municipal officials in their county. Each session will be tailored to the individual wishes of the Conservation District, but one constant has been a presentation by a lawyer from the Ag Law Center at Dickinson Law School. Typically, the lawyer will discuss the Right to Farm Act, Ag Security Area Act, and municipalities' roles in agriculture, especially related to zoning and land use planning.

The Ombudsman has looked at proposed zoning or "nuisance" ordinances from different parts of the state, containing some wording which is unfavorable to the start-up or future expansion of an animal operation. I usually offer educational input to the municipality related to current trends in agriculture and offer to work with municipal officials, to be sure they understand the implications and ramifications to the future of agriculture if the ordinance passes.

PACD: Can you give an example of one of these situations?
Dehoff: I recently offered educational input to a township in Huntingdon County, which doesn't have zoning, and was considering a nuisance ordinance, that says that any farmer who wants to store or apply manure in that township must first get a permit to allow it, and that permit costs $5,000. That ordinance doesn't discriminate between large or small; dairy, poultry, swine or beef; organic or non-organic. It is saying if you want to have manure in the township, you need to pay $5,000. I know that isn't the only ordinance of its type in that area. Obviously, that can have serious consequences for the future of agriculture in that township, and if the precedence is set, the ripple effects can spread.

PACD: What is the future of the Ombudsman Program?
Dehoff: The Ombudsman Program is currently in its 5th fiscal year. As the program has progressed, the outreach has expanded to at least 17 additional counties in PA. Recently, the budget for the overall program was increased in hopes of hiring an additional Ombudsman or two across the state. Additional Ombudsman might be able to help with proactive efforts related to not only to agriculture, but forestry, stormwater issues, erosion, mining, or other issues that Districts deal with, and could use education or liaison-type assistance with.

PACD: What should Districts do if they are interested in your services?
Dehoff: In the past, the Ombudsman Program has worked with Districts to get their input, then the Ombudsman has developed the agenda, designed the invitations to events, and covered the costs of speakers, meals, room rental, etc. I am certainly willing to do that in the future. However, I am also willing to share what has worked in the past, and share past agendas, successful formats, contact information and ideas for speakers, caterers, etc., and let the staff in the Districts handle the details themselves. If the District handles the details, funding or partial funding for programs may still be available, depending on topics covered, target audience and resources available.

PACD: Thank you Shelly for taking the time to share information on the Ombudsman Program.
Dehoff: If anyone has specific questions or comments related to the Ombudsman Program, feel free to contact me at 717-880-0848 or shelly.dehoff@verizon.net.

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