Operation Hometown Outreach visits Byesville Rotary

Pictured: Tanya Hitchens, Byesville Rotary President, Connie Finton, Operation Hometown Outreach.

Warning: the Sgt. at Arms is being VERY creative with questions for fines. Be prepared for anything.

Connie Finton, a volunteer speaker for Operation Hometown Outreach, states that many people are moving away from farms and as a result “...many children do not know where food comes from.” She went on to report that when asked, many children will answer that they get food from McDonalds and others will say “the grocery store.” Fewer and fewer children are aware that the things they eat and drink are produced on a farm and are the result of lots of hard work.

The organization she belongs to, Operation Hometown Outreach, is trying to change that perception. One of their goals is to provide speakers to groups and reintroduce people to the farmers that supply the food in the grocery stores.

Finton is one half of a farm team. She and her husband own Carlene Farm in Tuscararus County. Carlene Farms produces safe dairy products for families .Their farm is family run with no outside help. Help is provided by three of her grandchildren who want to go into farming. The grandchildren will be the 5th generation of Fintons to work the Carlene Farm. Finton and her family consider themselves caretakers of the land and the animals they raise.

Holstein dairy cows are the heart of their farm. On average, the farm has a herd of 85-90 cows that are providing milk. Additionally, there will be a smaller herd of cows that are dry or are expecting calves. Taking care of this many large animals is hard work.

Good care is important because the cows represent a big investment and because the Fintons depend on the animals for their livelihood. Finton said that her family takes good care of their animals because “…it is the right thing to do,” and because if they don’t, the farm will not make any money

Her cows stay in an open sided building that provides shade. The building is furnished with a large waterbed which the cows love so much they don’t like to leave the building. The cows are milked twice at day—at 5:30 am and 5:00 pm. Milking takes about 3 hours for a herd of 90 cows. Dairy farming is a 365 day a year job with no vacations. Cows need milked every day—no exceptions.

Byesville Rotary meets every Tuesday, 7:30 am, at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Randy Launder, 740-685-8294.