By: Patrick Troyer, Paulding SWCD
The Paulding Soil & Water Conservation District is pleased to welcome Tayler Coy as our newest addition to the office as the Western Lake Erie Basin Nutrient Management Specialist. Tayler covers the following three counties in his position: Paulding, Defiance, and Williams County. Let’s cover a bit of information about Tayler and his position.
Tayler grew up on a little 50-acre farm with my grandparents and uncle living right next door off St. Rt. 36 in Greenville, Ohio. He went to Greenville High School where he took an engineering tech prep program and was the secretary of the engineering club at the high school. After graduation of high school, Tayler furthered his education at the University of Toledo graduated from the University of Toledo with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies with a concentration in geography and planning.
Following college, Tayler landed a job taking soil tests for a sales representative of Ag Spectrum which helped him learn more about cover crops, the importance of soil tests, management farming, and nutrient runoff. In August of 2014, Tayler took a position at Five Rivers Metroparks in Dayton, Ohio starting out at Hills and Dales Metropark as a seasonal technician. Three months later, Tayler moved up to a part-time park technician at Cox Arboretum Metropark transitioning to a full-time horticulture technician at Cox Arboretum Metropark. At this job, Tayler performed numerous landscaping activities including: pruning, mulching, mowing, trimming, planting, trail maintenance, inspections, seeding, garden design, bed design along with greenhouse activities such as seeding, planting, reforestation program, and building inspections. Tayler designed and managed a garden where they produced chemical free fruits and vegetables and donated them to the local food bank in Dayton, Ohio. On average donated 1,500lbs of produce annually.
Outside of work, Tayler likes to go fishing and golfing in my spare time. He regularly fishes in competitive bass tournaments throughout Ohio winning numerous tournaments and making it to nationals a couple times. Tayler coached Upwards Basketball, grades 4th through 8th from 2013 to 2015 and together a charity golf scramble in Greenville, Ohio back in October 2018. Tayler helped volunteer with Hooked on Fishing Not Drugs at Five Rivers Metroparks.
Tayler’s main responsibility is to respond to manure complaints and work with the grower as well as the public to see what the issue may be. He is one of the first guys you may see on the scene when a complaint is made. A rather routine process is involved each time a manure complaint is made. The originating source of the manure must be located which may be somebody trucking it, spreading it on the ground, or piling it on the ground. Tayler needs to find the owner of the manure and see if they are within the bounds of the law. One of the main things he checks for is that a 300-foot buffer zone exists between where the manure is stockpiled and the nearest water source, whether it be a small ditch or a river.
The amount of manure complaints that come in for Tayler can vary greatly from week to week. For the most part, many of the calls he had received thus far are for simple smell complaints. Tayler obtains much of his resources and backing from Senate Bill 1 passed by the 131st Ohio General Assembly which became effective in July 2015. This bill is now part of the Ohio Revised Code and is known as Revised Code 939. Senate Bill 1 was enacted to aid in the control of algal blooms in Lake Erie and the Western Basin which includes the City of Toledo. Provisions exist in this legislation that prevent fertilizer application (phosphorus & nitrogen) on frozen ground, when two inches of topsoil are saturated or if there is a greater than 50% chain of one inch or more of rain in a 12- hr. period for fertilizer and 24 hr. for manure.
Manure complaints are not the only thing that Tayler does daily. He is also available to aid growers in implementing Best Management Practices (BMP’s) which can consist of things such as grassed waterways or filter strips along streams. Farmers who want to make use of their manure in addition to those who do not farm but like to be informed on the laws can benefit from the resources provided by Coy. Each Soil & Water Conservation district seeks to provide its constituents with as much information as possible on how to be good stewards of the land and properly manage your nutrients.
Are you unsure of regulations regarding applying and stockpiling manure? The Paulding SWCD website has a brochure containing frequently asked questions along with a handout on how you can ensure you are following manure application regulations that can be found on our website www.pauldingswcd.org under the “Manure Management” tab or stop in the office to receive a copy.
Tayler looks forward to interacting with the residents of Paulding County as well as Defiance & Williams County and educating them on the laws surrounding manure and nutrient management. He feels that the knowledge gained from college on the issue and the field work taking soil tests and the social skills from working with volunteers should help him make an easy transition to this position. He wants to serve as another voice for farmers who face a concerned public. Those wishing to contact Tayler may do so by calling the Paulding Soil & Water Conservation District office at 419-399-4771 or via email nutrient.specialist@pauldingswcd.org.
