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OEFFA Farmers’ Thoughts on Tariffs
Tariffs, tariffs, tariffs. They’ve been on our minds for months, as we’ve all followed the roller coaster of announcements, retaliations, negotiations, and pauses. But what exactly are tariffs? More importantly, how might the recent trade war impact our farmers?
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Policy and Pints: You’re Invited!
It has been an interesting few months, especially for those in food, agriculture, and environment spaces. As such, there is no better time to be in community! As part of the recently launched 2025 OEFFA Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series, our team will be traveling around the state to connect with local organizations and community members.
Dubbed Policy and Pints, our informal gatherings will provide an opportunity for folks around Ohio to connect with OEFFA policy staff, learn about our work, and see how you can plug into these advocacy efforts. You’ll be able to dip your toes into the world of food and farm policy issues, sip on beverages from sustainable breweries and ciderhouses, and engage with other changemakers!
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You’re Invited to Advocate for Healthy Soil
Globally, around one-third of soils are degraded. By the middle of the century, 90 percent or more could become degraded. In the Midwest alone, more than 57.6 billion metric tons of topsoil have been lost over the past 160 years.
At the same time, healthy soil has been increasingly shown to hold more water, reduce runoff and protect water quality, require less fertilizer, and sequester carbon. Thriving soil results in healthier crops, providing a positive return on investment for farmers and ranchers. Isn’t all of this worth protecting?
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Amplifying Farmers’ Voices in DC
Abundant cherry blossoms greeted our team in Washington last week. They arrived just in time for peak bloom. The weather was kind, and people from all over were out and about enjoying the brightly pungent ambassadors of spring. After a tumultuous few months, the vibrant trees offered a welcome bit of beauty and proudly declared a timely reminder of new beginnings.
Milo and Lauren, OEFFA’s policy director and grassroots policy organizer, went to the annual National Organic Coalition (NOC) fly-in. Our team was joined by farmers Bridget Burgess of Hirzel Farms and Charlie Eselgroth of Buckskin Valley Farms. In just a few days, the NOC delegation had Hill meetings with over 60 congressional offices and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials.
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That’s A Wrap: 2025 OEFFA Policy Film Screening Series
On Sunday, March 23, our team wrapped up our second-annual film screening series. All in all, we had nearly 200 folks registered for screenings of Feeding Tomorrow, Organic Rising, and Farming While Black! Together, we learned about the realities of organic and sustainable agriculture and the programs and people making our food system more just, resilient, and regenerative. Here are some highlights from each film.
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OEFFA Launches Funding Freeze Action Center
Across the country, tens of thousands of farmers and the organizations serving them have been impacted by an unprecedented freeze on federal funds obligated under signed, lawful contracts. Beginning as soon as he took office on January 20, President Trump signed several executive orders targeting the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), diversity, equity, inclusivity, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives, and climate-related actions. As a result, many federal programs and funding contracts have been paused, modified, or altogether terminated.
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Farm Action Agriculture Consolidation Data Hub
Guest post featuring Angela Huffman of Farm Action. Originally published in the Winter 2025 OEFFA Newsletter.
A key priority for the OEFFA Policy team is addressing consolidation in food systems and advocating for policies that support small and mid-sized farming operations. We are digging into a new report and data hub published by the advocacy group Farm Action, which reveals that just three dozen corporations now control almost every industry involved in growing, processing, and distributing food in America.
We discussed the findings with Farm Action president Angela Huffman, who is a long-time OEFFA member and a graduate of OSU’s College of Public Affairs. Huffman also raises registered Katahdin sheep on her family’s 200-year-old farm in northwest Ohio.
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2024 OEFFA Policy Year in Review
2024 was a big year for our policy work. The successes and lessons of last year are shared—shared with those of you who provided testimony at the Statehouse, met with legislators on farms or on Capitol Hill, engaged in our new policy caucuses, or followed along with us here or on Instagram.
Together, we accomplished a lot in 2024.
We extend our deepest gratitude to you, our community, for all we were able to do last year. Policy change is a long game, and our collective voices and actions made a mark on food and farm policy matters that will reverberate throughout 2025 and beyond.
Thank you.
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What is Going On with Organic Cost Share?
We reported in our most recent farm bill update that “orphan programs” of the farm bill did not receive additional funding with the most recent farm bill extension (ending September 30, 2025). Orphan programs are those that do not have “baseline,” or permanent, funding in a farm bill. So, their funding does not automatically renew when a farm bill is extended unless they have additional funding written into the extension. One of those programs without permanent funding is very important to our community, organic cost share.
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Boldly Grow with OEFFA Policy at the 2025 OEFFA Conference
The new year is upon us, which means that the 2025 OEFFA Conference will be here before we know it!
We’re excited to showcase our coalition partners, policy member leaders, farmers, and food system experts through seven policy-centered workshops.
Don’t miss out on your opportunity to learn about how policy can shape our food and farming systems—all while sharing, connecting, and shopping at Ohio’s biggest sustainable agriculture conference.
Register for the 46th annual OEFFA Conference, Boldly Grow today. Early-bird registration closes Friday, January 10.
FARM POLICY MATTERS