Meet Our Board
Justin Ringler, Chair
Justin Ringler has served as the Ashland SWCD chair since 2020. He is serving his second elected term as a member of the Ashland SWCD board. Justin lives just north of Loudonville where he operates a dairy farm with his wife’s family. He also farms with his family where he grew up near Mansfield.
“I ran for the Soil and Water Conservation District board because is is a respected organization in Ashland County for going real-world conservation and environmentalism,” Justin said.
Justin is a 2001 graduate of Ohio State University where he majored in Crop Science. Justin says he doesn’t really binge watch television, but says he does enjoy watching Cobra Kai on Netflix.
Steve Hughes, Vice Chair
Steve is the co-host of WZLP FM’s weekly ag radio show “Kickin’ Klods,” which features guests from a variety of agricultural careers and backgrounds. The show broadcasts news for the farming community while educating non-farm listeners on how much work is involved in putting food on the table.
“Water and soil are our two most important agriculture natural resources,” Hughes said. “In an ever-changing farm environment that includes many new and innovative practices, I feel it is very important that we include water and soil conservation into our everyday farming practices.”
An OSU agriculture alum, Hughes and his wife Robin live in Loudonville and have three adult children and two grandsons. He purchased a farm in Lake Township in 1974 and has operated Raintree Dairy, worked in herd management at Ohio State ATI, and worked in large animal feed sales before retiring and moving back to Loudonville in 2015.
Valerie Hall, Secretary
Valerie lives near Jeromesville on a grain farm where they grow corn, soybeans and wheat. Because that doesn’t keep the Halls busy enough, they also spread fertilizer and lime, and do custom spraying and tiling. In addition to keeping all the records for the farm, Valerie is the fiscal officer for Perry Township and treasurer for an investment club.
Valerie has two horses and two grandsons that she loves to spend time with on the farm. She also enjoys flea markets and antique stores.Valerie graduated from Hillsdale High School and grew up between Hayesville and Mifflin after her family moved to Ashland County from Alabama when she was young.
Karen Welch, Fiscal Agent
A life-long dairy farmer and industry supporter, Karen lives near Polk, Ohio on her family farm: U-Dean Farms. She is a retired English teacher and graduate of Miami University where she majored in English with a minor in botany before earning her master’s degree in supervision from Ashland University. Karen says her idea of fun has changed as her life changes, but good friends, good family and good food are hard to beat.
“I see the conservation of our soil and water as critical to our immediate and future needs. Clean, potable water and healthy soils are a form of wealth,” said Karen. “Serving on the board is a way to be a part of contributing to the future and conserving these resources.”
Scott Stolcals
Scott and his wife operate a small farm in Nova. The crops they grow are corn, soybeans, and wheat. They have been using No-till for the past three years, while incorporating as much of a diverse cover crop into their rotation. Livestock also plays a key role in their farming operation, they direct market beef, pork, and chicken. They believe nutrient rich proteins and grains are a direct result of healthy soils.