Ohio Food and Farm Policy

OEFFA is a leading grassroots policy voice for organic and sustainable farmers in Ohio. We represent a coalition of nearly 2,000 members and certified organic operations. Our farmers are stewards for future generations, building strong and resilient soils that yield nutritious food for our community. But, Ohio’s leaders must work together to protect our vanishing soil, farmland, and local food and farm system.

OEFFA has worked in the Ohio Statehouse to successfully pass farmland preservation legislation, the Family Farm ReGeneration Act. More recently, we have been building support for soil health-based climate solutions in the state and were instrumental in passing legislation that officially recognizes Ohio Soil Health Week each November.

Without a doubt, our members are central to this work. They attend meetings and hearings, participate in the Ohio Soil Health Initiative (OSHI), join caucus meetings, and contact decision-makers to advocate for policies that support farmers and advance climate solutions. Contact us to get involved!

From November 10-16, 2024, OEFFA and the Ohio Soil Health Initiative (OSHI) recognized Ohio’s most valuable natural resource: soil! The first Ohio Soil Health Week brought together farmers, community members, organizations, state leaders, and legislators to amplify different voices and share how powerful and important Ohio’s soils are. Planning will soon be underway for the second-annual celebration!

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Ohio Soil Health Policy

Healthy soil is essential to our future. Soil is the foundation of our food and farm systems and when its health is prioritized, it holds more water, reduces runoff, and protects water quality. It also helps combat climate change by sequestering carbon in the soil and building on-farm resilience to withstand ever-increasing extreme weather events.

This is why OEFFA is working to make sure Ohio’s commitment to soil health is more than just seed-deep.

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Ohio Farmland Preservation Policy

In their Farms Under Threat report, the American Farmland Trust identified Ohio as a priority state in need of land protection. For example, between 2001-2016, Ohio lost 312,200 acres of agricultural land to development. Nationally, 100 million acres of land will change hands in the next few years, putting even more land at risk.

Ohio has many tools in place to stem the tide of this land conversion. They include the Clean Ohio Local Agricultural Easement Purchase Program, Agricultural Security Areas, Agricultural Districts, and the Current Agricultural Use Valuation Program.

Despite the success of these programs, they are not enough. Ohio needs to encourage communities to develop comprehensive plans and identify policies to protect agricultural resources. Our state leaders need to continue to incentivize land transfer between farmers to help address rising land prices and farm consolidation.

Representatives Susan Manchester (R-84) and Mary Lightbody (D-19) with farmers from Foraged & Sown and OEFFA staff

Access to affordable, high-quality farmland is the number one challenge young farmers face, which is why OEFFA members spent more than two years meeting with legislators, testifying during hearings, and participating in lobby days to convey the importance of land access for Ohio’s 33,000 beginning farmers.

In April 2022, the OEFFA-backed House Bill 95—the Family Farm ReGeneration Act (FFRGA)—was signed into law. The Beginning Farmer Tax Credit went into effect on January 1, 2023.

The FFRGA encourages those with farmland, livestock, buildings, or equipment to sell to beginning farmers to receive income tax credits. Beginning farmers are also eligible for tax credits.

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