OHIO Sowing seeds of reality about farm country life

Farmers want city folks to know the country can be noisy and stinky.
HASKINS, Ohio (AP) -- The stench of manure drifting across farm fields. Combines churning all hours of the night. Tractors pulling equipment down the road at a snail's pace.
That's not exactly the tranquility some city dwellers search for when they move to the country.
The clash of cultures between farmers and folks leaving the city behind is a growing concern in the heartland, where being neighborly has given way to settling disputes with a fistfight or a nuisance lawsuit.
"We've had pretty good relations with our neighbors, but times are changing," said Ed Hoskinson, a central Ohio farmer. "People lose sight of what we're producing."
Agriculture advocates say the rising tension is a symptom of urban sprawl and a lack of understanding of farm life. But others say bigger farms are bringing more air and noise pollution.
"It amazes me how naive urban folks are when it relates to farming," said Mark Knudsen, director of planning in Ottawa County, Mich.
Fair warning
His office began distributing brochures this summer that tell people to think twice before moving to the country. To drive home that message, the pamphlet includes a scratch-and-sniff whiff of manure.
The Ohio Farm Bureau has given out hundreds of signs that are planted along rural roads advising people that they are entering an agricultural area with some unpleasant smells and sounds.
The organization also encourages farmers to be good neighbors and do things such as avoiding spreading manure when they know people will be having family outings. Friendly gestures also can go a long way in averting disputes.
"I grew up on a hog farm, and we always took cookies to the neighbors before we hauled out manure," said Jeremy Harrison, head of the Farm Bureau's Wood County office in northwest Ohio.
Sometimes, though, that's not enough.
UA farmer in Medina County got a ticket for disturbing the peace after a neighbor complained that he was out in the fields too late.
UA homeowner in Preble County threatened to file a lawsuit because he said a neighbor's tractor kept him from hearing his television.
UA farmer in Summit County was sued by neighbors for using a device that mimics the sound of a shotgun blast to keep birds out of his sweet corn. The lawsuit was dropped.
Legal protection
Ohio and most states have a Right to Farm Act that in most cases protects farmers from nuisance suits over the normal sounds and smells of farm operations.
But it doesn't protect farmers in all cases, especially those who operate negligently or illegally.
Earlier this month, the state Supreme Court ordered an orchard's owners to eliminate any substantial or unreasonable interference with their neighbor's property, after the neighbor complained of increased truck traffic and diesel fumes from the orchard's expanded business.
Nuisance lawsuits also are increasing because dairy and hog farms are getting bigger.
Bobby King, a policy organizer for the Minnesota-based Land Stewardship Project, said family farmers and longtime rural residents are also upset with big farming operations.
"It's not just the newcomers," he said. "The state is not adequately protecting people's health and well-being from the pollution that factory farms produce."
Minnesota case
His organization promotes small family farms and has fought against large-scale farming in Minnesota.
Minnesota's Court of Appeals in June reinstated a nuisance lawsuit against a large hog farm, saying the state's Right to Farm Act was too broad and did not apply in cases of negligence.
Gerald and Julie Wendinger of Nicollet County sued the farm operation over odors that come from a lagoon that stores liquid manure. They said the smell forced them to leave their longtime farm.
Most farmers say they get along with a majority of newcomers.
Petra Kramer, who left suburban Toledo three years ago to escape city life, said anyone who can't deal with the smells and sounds of the country shouldn't move.
"Those are the people who should stay in the city," said Kramer, who lives just outside the village of Haskins, about 15 miles south of Toledo. "After all, we're kind of invading on their land."