K E L S ✞

Usually the youngest in the room, fresh ideas from the field 🌱 | OSU Buckeye Alum 🎓 | Farming with faith ✝️ | T1D | Rural Ohio advocate

[K E L S ✞ @elaraveil282]

@BenjaminNething Just about as out of touch as Checkoff a while back https://t.co/rIykuI4noJ

[Beef Checkoff @BeefCheckoff]

Selling cattle directly to a producer? Buyer and seller must ensure the Beef Checkoff is collected and remitted. Sellers are encouraged to handle compliance. Get the Private Treaty Sales Form here: https://t.co/U7tSfWiDaT #BeefCheckoff

[K E L S ✞ @elaraveil282]

NCBA is back out locking comments and claiming that supporting MCOOL is somehow a vote “against the rebuild of the U.S. cattle herd.”

I’ve written about these exact issues before — transparency for consumers, the power of the Big Four packers, and whether leadership actually listens to independent producers. All three pieces are relevant again right now.

1. Why mandatory Country of Origin Labeling still matters and delivers real value for both consumers and producers: https://t.co/YIoauqbakJ

2. How four packers came to control the majority of the beef industry and what that has meant for family operations like ours in Ohio: https://t.co/LrD05pd2jf

3. A look at USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins’ conversation with independent producers and why direct listening still matters: https://t.co/HxK9TXMbSx

Transparency isn’t the enemy of a healthy cattle industry. Lack of it is.

[K E L S ✞ @elaraveil282]

If you’re so sure you’re fighting for the producers, why lock the comments?

Open the replies and defend it.

Cowards.

[National Cattlemen's Beef Association @BeefUSA]

A handful of Republican Agriculture Committee Senators are working with activists, trying to strong-arm MCOOL into the Senate Farm Bill. Support of MCOOL is a vote for higher beef prices, & against the rebuild of the U.S. cattle herd.

[K E L S ✞ @elaraveil282]

In a moving July 4 tribute along Giddings Road in Edinburg, Kevin Kibler lined up more than 20 Farmalls, Internationals, and other tractors spanning nearly 80 years to honor his late father, longtime Portage County farmer Bill Kibler. https://t.co/L8v1HQWggO

[K E L S ✞ @elaraveil282]

H.R. 1346, the Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act, has passed the House, but year-round E15 won't become a reality unless the Senate acts. The Senate needs to hear your story, your voice, and why year-round E15 matters to your farm.

Take action NOW and send a message to your senator! https://t.co/pu4KHCyXn8

[K E L S ✞ @elaraveil282]

Farm families often avoid the toughest question: What happens to the farm when I die? Without a plan, uncertainty can strain families and put hard-earned legacies at risk.

Join Ohio State University Extension’s free webinar on July 27 from 7:00–8:30 p.m. via Zoom with David Marrison and Robert Moore. Learn how to define your vision, identify stewards, organize assets, and use the practical FARMS tool—whether you’re just starting or revisiting a plan.

Pre-register here: https://t.co/0cFX4AQ1ML

[Senator Jon Husted @SenJonHusted]

Vicky is right to be concerned about foreign adversaries buying up farmland—it poses a significant national security risk.

I'm backing the Promoting Agriculture Safeguards Act, which prohibits individuals or entities on behalf of China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea from purchasing agricultural land near national security sites.

[K E L S ✞ @elaraveil282]

Let’s Clear Up the Confusion About HB 126

There’s been a lot of alarming chain messages calling HB 126 a “Data Center Immunity Bill.” I understand the worry — data centers do raise real issues about water use, farmland loss, and higher electric bills. But this bill isn’t about that at all.

Here’s what HB 126 actually does (in plain English):

It’s a tort reform bill that says: If you want to sue a company because of the product they make or sell, you have to use the normal product liability laws — not try to call it a “public nuisance” to get around the rules.

Legal definition of a “Product” (from Ohio law):
“Product” means any object, substance, mixture, or raw material that is tangible personal property — basically something physical you can buy or sell, like pills, guns, cars, tools, chemicals, etc. It has to be produced for sale or lease in the marketplace.

Data centers are not a “product.”
They provide a service (computing power, data storage, cloud hosting). They operate facilities on land — just like a factory, warehouse, or power plant. Issues like water usage, noise, traffic, or land impacts are handled under completely different laws (zoning, environmental regulations, water permits, regular nuisance claims, etc.).

HB 126 does not give data centers (or anyone) a free pass on how they operate their facilities.

Data centers were never mentioned in any committee hearing for this bill.
This bill came out of the big opioid lawsuits and is meant to keep the rules consistent for actual manufactured products.

If you’re concerned about data centers, there are other bills directly addressing these issues, such as:
- HB 784 for water consumption reporting
- SB 374 on sales tax exemptions and incentives
- HB 646 to create a Data Center Study Commission
And others like HB 706 on electric grid costs

Let’s focus our energy on the right targets instead of letting scary messages confuse us.

Read the full bill yourself here:
https://t.co/qZcnBhpZjO

[Steve Demetriou @steve4ohsenate]

Proud to advocate for great organizations like Hiram Farm in Portage County that are making a real difference in our community.

Hiram Farm provides meaningful opportunities for Northeast Ohioans with autism through a working farm environment that builds purpose, independence, and connection. Grateful for the incredible work their team is doing for local families.

[Secretary Brooke Rollins @SecRollins]

Today, just four companies — JBS, Cargill, Tyson Foods, and National Beef — control roughly 85% of the cattle processing market. That level of concentration has surged from just 25% in 1977 to 71% by 1992, and now to an astonishing 85%.

Together, these companies operate through dozens of subsidiary businesses, creating a landscape that leaves many of our cattle producers with limited marketing options.

For some ranchers this means less marketing opportunities, complicating an already challenging marketplace.

We must work to address this to protect our ranchers and consumers.

@POTUS and this administration are focused on promoting fairness and competition — ensuring our producers have options and a level playing field. 🇺🇸🥩

[K E L S ✞ @elaraveil282]

The House will soon vote on H.R. 7567 - Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, also known as Farm Bill 2.0, and I need your help to urge the House to pass this bill. This legislation includes the opportunity to finally unlock year-round E-15 sales, adding to the urgency for Congress to finish the job.

Take action NOW and send a message to your representative! https://t.co/GueTnLSXO7

[K E L S ✞ @elaraveil282]

COOL isn’t just ‘extra cost with zero benefit’ — it’s real transparency that consumers actually want (and will pay for).

Mandatory Country of Origin Labeling delivers value to both beef eaters and U.S. producers, especially right here in Ohio.

Dismissing it as a goose egg misses the point.

Strong piece today on Ohio Field Notes → https://t.co/YIoauqbakJ

What do you think — should we know where our beef comes from?

[K E L S ✞ @elaraveil282]

Today marks 24 years since I was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic 💙

[K E L S ✞ @elaraveil282]

Hey friends, I just published a new piece called “Little Farmer Libraries: Planting Seeds of Farm Wonder in Portage County Elementary Schools” 🌱📚

As someone who’s passionate about farming and bridging the gap between kids and where their food comes from, I’m really excited to share this. The Portage County Farm Bureau has been placing little farmer libraries in over 20 local elementary schools, stocked with books about farm animals, tractors, gardens, and growing food. It’s a simple but meaningful way to spark curiosity and appreciation in the next generation.

I’d love for you to check it out and tell me what you think!

Read it here: https://t.co/crqJcsMyY5

#LittleFreeLibrary #Farming #PortageCounty #Ohio #KidsAndFarming

[K E L S ✞ @elaraveil282]

Ohio farmers are getting squeezed while big tech gets a massive tax break!

Gov. DeWine’s recent veto is letting multi-billion (even trillion-dollar) companies build data centers with huge sales tax exemptions—while Ohio’s rural communities and family farms struggle with soaring costs, land grabs, and strained resources.

Agriculture is in one of its toughest spots since the 1980s. Developers are offering prices farmers can’t match, and data centers could impact farmland, water, electricity, and more.

Ohio Farm Bureau is urging lawmakers to override the veto and repeal this unfair exemption so these facilities benefit Ohio taxpayers—not just corporate giants.

They support a study commission (HB 646) but say we need action NOW to slow unchecked growth.

Lawmakers need to hear from you—stand with Ohio agriculture!

Read more & take action: https://t.co/izjHoOdS6Q

#OhioFarms #DataCenters #SupportFarmers #RuralOhio

[K E L S ✞ @elaraveil282]

Across Ohio, data centers fueling the AI boom are sparking rare alliances: rural + suburban residents, conservatives + progressives, environmentalists + farmers—all uniting against the massive energy demands, water depletion risks (threatening aquifers & farms), skyrocketing utility bills from grid upgrades, generous tax breaks for Big Tech that leave communities footing the bill, and secretive siting processes with little public input.

From packed town halls in Marysville, Hilliard, Union County, and beyond to moratoriums and bipartisan bills like HB 646—people are saying enough.

Great deep dive from Ohio Field Notes: ‘United in Opposition: How Data Centers Are Sparking Unlikely Alliances’

Read it here: https://t.co/I9kt8UqKt2

Is the AI race worth these hidden costs to Ohio communities? Or do we need real guardrails? Thoughts?

#DataCenters #Ohio #AI #BigTech

[Shay Foulk @FoulkShay]

It’s March now, get your life together people

No one in particular, but I’m probably talking to you.

Have a great day, everyone

[Prince & Princess of Wales Fan @HRHCatherine]

Charlie Kirk dies for speaking.

Lefties: “good! He deserved it!

Ayatollah dies for taking over 10 million lives since 1979.

Lefties: “You can’t just kill people you don’t like!”