24 • The Beacon August 3 , 2023

By Josie Sellers

Deb Bigelow took county officials on a tour and highlighted some conservation projects the Coshocton Soil and Water Conservation District helped with at local farms .

The tour was held July 25 and included stops at the Rettos ’ farm on County Road 124 in West Lafayette , WenMar Farms on Township Road 166 in West Lafayette and LB Porteus Farms on County Road 271 in Coshocton .

Mike Rettos first approached soil and water in 2018 .

“ He was struggling with feeding his cattle in the winter ,” said Zach Wallace from soil and water . “ He was dealing with mud and soil erosion , and it just wasn ’ t fun .”

They were able to help Rettos work through a plan and get concrete heavy use pads to feed the cattle in the winter .

“ It takes the tractor out of the equation , and the cattle still have access to the pasture when the ground is frozen ,” Wallace said .

Manure storage also

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The farm tour went to Mike Rettos ’ property , where the group learned about conservation projects involving waste storage , watering facilities and heavy use pads .

was created , and the office helped with soil and water issues .

“ It all worked out really well with what they ’ ve done ,” Rettos said .

At WenMar Farms the group learned about irrigation water management , the technology built into the system and how soil moister probes help them decide when to operate the system .

Greg Waters from WenMar explained not only how the system can

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be turned on and off , but also how it can be sped up and slowed down , all with the use of an app .

“ Anywhere you have cell service , you can run it ,” Waters said .

The group then went to Schumaker Farms for dinner before making a final stop at LB Porteus Farms to learn about its new beef feeding facility .

Ryan Medley from the soil and water office said the Porteus family had come to them to discuss

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Brent Porteus explained some of the technology built into his family ’ s new beef feeding facility .

their old building reaching the end of its life and possibilities for a new one . Medley explained how they helped gather data for building a new facility , which helped the family ’ s private contractor get started on the 424-footlong , 90-foot-wide facility .

“ Our old facility had seen 50 cycles of cattle and was at the end of its use for life , so we went to soil and water to help us with planning ,” Brent Porteus said . “ We were able

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to build this new building with the most technology for feeding and waste management . It was powerful to have the data we did from soil and water and be able to take it to our contractor . That gave us a good start knowing the elevation , grade and how to handle water .”

The Coshocton Soil & Water Conservation District is a legally organized subdivision of the

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