Well Done Dr. Forshey

By Ty Higgins

As you have probably heard by now, The Ohio Department of Agriculture has a new leader at the helm. His name is David Daniels and he makes his way to ODA via the Statehouse where he served as a State Senator for Ohio’s 17th District for four terms.

For the past 3 months, State Vet Dr. Tony Forshey added the title of Interim Director of ODA. During his short tenure, you would have never guessed that he even knew that “interim” was part of his new role. He hit the ground running knowing that there would be no time for Ohio agriculture to slow down and just wait on a new Director. Dr. Forshey traveled the state to speak at numerous events, spearheaded working groups to discuss water quality and nutrient management and I would even put money on him looking forward to making the county fair rounds had his time at the post lasted until summer.

As Senator Daniels was being announced as ODA Director last week, I sat down with Dr. Forshey to chat about his experience as the leader of Ohio’s #1 industry.

“It’s been fun,” Dr. Forshey shared with a smile. “I’ve met a lot of people and it was interesting to shift from my State Veterinary job to Director. We certainly look forward to the new Director coming in and getting him up to speed on where we are today.”

Between the water quality and nutrient management, dangerous wild animals, and livestock care standards, there are a lot of issues facing Director Daniels from day one. Before you give the car keys over to a new owner they want to know how it drives and so Dr. Forshey is ready to help with the transition in whatever way possible.

“One of the things about ODA is that even though we are a very small agency we are so important to the state,” said Dr. Forshey. “We are small but mighty, if you will. We have a lot of great chiefs of different divisions and we work really closely as a team and teamwork is what it is all about at ODA.”

Dr. Forshey emphasised that Senator Daniels is well qualified to take over as Director and looks forward to putting his focus solely back on his position as Ohio’s State Vet.

Dr. Forshey thank you for the extra hours, miles and effort. Well done.

Ty Higgins joins the Ohio Ag Net as a Farm Broadcaster and director of broadcast operations. He brings a farm background, on air radio personality and farm broadcasting experience to the company. Higgins anchors the new afternoon programs for the Ohio Ag Net.

He was born and raised on a dairy farm in Croton, Ohio. He graduated from Johnstown Monroe High School in 1996 and went on to The Ohio State University to study broadcast journalism. Along the way, he was given the opportunity to start his career as a farm broadcaster at AM880 WRFD. From there, Higgins spent over 12 years at WHOK-FM.

Higgins enjoys golf, cooking and time with his family. He and his wife Angela reside in Powell with their two children, Paige and Calvin.

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