The average age of farmers continues to climb, more than 100 million acres of farmland will change hands in the near future, and the biggest challenge identified by beginning farmers is access to land.

OEFFA is working to see how the state of Ohio could do more to ensure a future for agriculture. More than a year ago, we began meeting with members of the Ohio Legislature to alert them to a legislative tool Minnesota recently passed.

In little more than one year, the Minnesota Beginning Farmer Tax Credit received more than 800 applicants and provides tax credits for landowners who transfer land to a beginning farmer. OEFFA reached out to the Ohio Farmers Union, the Ohio Farm Bureau, and leaders of the House and Senate agriculture committees to advance this idea.