Strickland called the proposed constitutional amendment that Ohio voters will decide Nov. 3 "an issue we can all agree upon ... urban and rural, Republicans and Democrats, farmers and suburban families."

"It's the right thing for Ohio," Strickland told about 250 people gathered at the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center at Ohio State University.

Strickland spoke from a stage lined with hay bales and decorated with colorful gourds and artificial autumn leaves. A paid video team recorded the event for a coming campaign commercial.

Strickland said agribusiness pumps $93 billion into Ohio's economy and employs 1 million people.

Issue 2 would establish the 13-member Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board, headed by the director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture and composed of people involved in animal care, farm management and food production and safety. The amendment does not propose specific standards; the board would adopt rules for the care of livestock and poultry.

Agribusiness interests asked state lawmakers this year to place the amendment on the ballot to thwart a campaign by the Humane Society of the United States. The organization based in Washington, D.C., advocates more humane treatment of farm livestock and poultry like that embodied in laws passed by Michigan and six other states.

Ohioans for Livestock Care, a broad coalition supporting Issue 2, charges that the amendment must be passed to prevent "outside interests" from pushing "rigid, impractical stands for animal care."

The group has poured money into a statewide advertising campaign and backed 11 other rallies across the state.

Other speakers at the rally were Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish, D-Beachwood, and state Sen. Keith L. Faber, R-Celina. U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, sent a video recording, which was shown.

Brenda Hastings, a third-generation dairy farmer from Burton, Ohio, who is featured in pro-Issue 2 TV ads, said the amendment is a "win-win-win" for farmers, animals and consumers.

"We stand together to tell out-of-state groups, 'No, thanks.'  "

Paul Shapiro, spokeman for the national Humane Society, said the issue would "enshrine in the state constitution the agribusiness community's preferred oversight system. It's allowing the foxes to guard the henhouse."

In a related development, the Capital Area Humane Society of Columbus and the Cleveland Animal Protective League came out against Issue 2.

"The interests of Ohioans and the welfare of livestock and poultry would have been better-served had this board been created through a legislative effort at the Ohio Statehouse," said Jodi Lytle Buckman, executive director of the Capital Area group.

ajohnson@dispatch.com

"It's the right thing for Ohio."

"We stand together to tell out-of-state groups, 'No, thanks.'  "