Being a Good Neighbor is Being a Good Farmer

By Jane Fyksen, Crops Editor
Thursday, October 25, 2007 11:09 AM CDT

Producers empty their manure pits in the fall n and brownie points with nonfarm neighbors. You may yearn for the good ol’ days when everybody up and down your road was farming, but those days are gone, never to return.

Today’s reality is that many rural dwellers couldn’t care a less that manure contains valuable nutrients. What to producers is money, to nonfarmers n now generations removed from the farm n is liquid stench.

This week, Agri-View spreads some friendly reminders about non-farm neighbors and incorporates some tips that’ll go a long way toward keeping your farm in good standing in the “neighborhood.”

Farmers should take the initiative to get to know their neighbors, according to the Ohio Livestock Coalition, formed in 1997 to affirm an industry that’s “environmentally friendly, socially responsible and economically viable.” The OLC, in fact, has been spearheading an awards/recognition program in that state for both producers and rural residents/country dwellers, who abide by an OLC “Be a Good Neighbor” code of ethics.

To producers, the OLC recommends the following:

- Avoid applying manure on weekends whenever possible. Ask neighbors to let you know when an application may infringe on their entertainment plans. Weekend applications should target fields that least expose neighboring residences to odors. Prior to spring and fall manure applications, drop a postcard to neighbors letting them know the application season is at hand. Ask them to respond back with any special dates that you might hold off spreading, just when a high school graduation party is scheduled or an outdoor wedding.

- Take the time to explain what you do and why. For instance, spreading manure on cropland recycles nutrients and puts manure to productive use. Don’t assume nonfarmers know this; what’s obvious to you might come as a complete surprise to them. OLC recommends finding out what your neighbors do for a profession at the same time. (That could be useful information for a producer should a serious dispute later arise.)

- Get to know your neighbors. “Getting to know your neighbors is the most important and simplest action you can take to help minimize conflicts,” according to OLD. “When you know your neighbors, it is easier to talk to them when problems occur and to keep problems from escalating into blame, misunderstandings, hard feeling or intense community conflict.”

- Don’t forget about new neighbors who move into the community. Visit with them and invite them to visit the farm. If you have a lot of neighbors, because of the size of your cropping operation, consider developing a newsletter that’ll be sent on a regular basis to neighbors to keep them informed about your farm n and family. It doesn’t hurt to personalize your newsletter a bit, even though you try to maintain a business-like atmosphere to your operation. Remember, you’re talking “neighbors” here and “neighborliness.”

- Explain why, at planting and harvest, farmers must work late into the night and on weekends. “If neighbors know there are environmental benefits to applying manure and performing tillage when soil and planting windows are optimal, they may be more understanding,” OLC notes.

- Take opportunities to educate. Consider hosting an open hour or picnic for this purpose. Invite neighbors and their children over to see some calves. (Everybody enjoys baby animals, especially ones that are clean and bright-eyed like yours.) Explore if there’s a way you can somehow assist the local 4-H club.

- Share with neighbors that animals require attention and care 24 hours a day, regardless of holidays and weekends.

- Be helpful. Though today’s producers are, of course, busy running businesses, it might be time very well spent to. For instance, dig out your neighbors after a major snow, or share some extra sweet corn with them. If you expect your neighbors to be a good neighbor, you must also be a good neighbor to them. Being neighborly means being friendly to your neighbors, helping them when needed, and being willing to accommodate them. It’s the small things that matter when establishing and maintaining good relations with neighbors,” OLC reminds.

- Large operators might want to direct that their employees wave to nonfarm neighbors when they’re driving tractor in your fields or truckloads of silage. At a staff meeting on “neighbor relations,” you might also advise them to “slow down” on the road. Although they have to meet the forage harvester or combine on time, you might want to make it a rule that reasonable road speeds be adhered to and stop signs be obeyed.

- Behave responsibly. Comply with regulations and where possible, exceed minimum environmental standards. Respect and appreciate neighbors’ concerns about your operation’s impact on their quality of life and property values. Give a little forethought to what you’re doing in your fields, when and where. Walk a mile in their shoes; what would you think if another farming neighbor did it to you?

OLC also has a few words of advice for non-farming country dwellers. These address issues that producers might want to gently approach with non-farm neighbors. For instance:

- Keep pets on your own property, especially at night (so they don’t chase deer and livestock). Similarly, you might have to inform them that your farmland isn’t available for their off-road vehicles or hunting, any more than their backyards are opens to others without permission.

- Suggest that if they have a question about one of your farming practices, they should talk to you about it. Producers should remain “approachable.” The goal, after all, is to find satisfactory resolutions to issues as they arise.

Its important producers keep in mind that nonfarmers in their neighborhood are not “the enemy.” Farm and non-farm neighbors have a lot in common. They both care about their community and what to provide their families with the benefits of rural living.

The other overriding fact to also keep front and center is that the best public relations happen one-on-one. “If you’re a good neighbor, you provide the best possible public relations for your industry,” OLC reminds. “Being a good neighbor means being considerate and responsible, and it means communicating with your neighbors.”

Farmers who take the time to explain their practices often head off conflicts with neighbors. Good communication builds trust and allows you to discuss problems with your neighbors in a peaceful and respectful way. It also helps neighbors learn that you’re approachable and interested in their concerns. If a neighbor has a complaint about your farm, it’s far better that they feel comfortable enough to approach you directly instead of you hearing of it secondhand. Its far better they call you directly instead of using other avenues like county or state government agencies or “gossip” throughout the community.

“Just use common sense. Simply using common sense can make a big difference in minimizing conflicts with neighbors. The timeliness of farming means that you sometimes do not have much choice about when you plant, spray or harvest. Often, however, you do have some control over when you do farm tasks,” OLC reminds. Applying manure on holiday weekends or spraying chemicals on a windy day will do little to build community harmony.

Develop a farm management plan that takes into account neighbors as well as the environment, while maximizing the value of farm inputs. For instance, the cost of injecting or composting manure is very small compared to upset neighbors.

Make your farm attractive. The appearance of your farm plays an important role in determining when neighbors and others think about you and your operation. A farm’s appearance is a reflection of your professionalism, competence and even concern about the environment. Keep in mind that an overwhelming majority of the public only comes in contact with farms when they drive by them, and people who drive by a farm “smell with their eyes n not their noses.”

Think of your farm as a billboard advertisement for agriculture. While there might not be immediate monetary payback, developing a landscape plan that keep your facilities and manure storage from becoming an eyesore and blends facilities into the landscape is a wise investment nonetheless. Consider the use of screening, artificial hills, earth tone colors, colors perceived as “clean” and “healthy,” low noise fans, shrubs and flowers and decorative fences. The landscaping and maintenance around farm buildings may be an excellent 4-H or FFA career development project opportunity for your kids or your neighbors’.

You don’t solve anything by being hard-nosed or arrogant. How you respond to complaints from neighbors will determine whether the issue grows into anger, resentment and possibly a major conflict. Don’t simply dismiss complaints as being unreasonable. When mistakes happen, take responsibility and appropriate corrective measures.

Become active in the community. Encourage your ag organizations to become involved in educational activities and outreach programs for nonfarmers. Support the local community with your farm business. Support local charitable events, school programs, even local scholarships in your farm name.

“Demonstrating through actions and words your respect for your neighbors, community and the environment will build a trusting relationship that will return unlimited benefits to you and your industry…Building public relations will cost money and time, but it should be viewed as a cost of doing business, as well as inexpensive insurance,” OLC contends.

And who knows, you just make some new personal friends in the process.

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