Ohio Farmers Union

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United to Grow Family Agriculture Since 1934

USDA Expands Specialty Crop Insurance Coverage

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Representing the interests of 200,000 family farmers and ranchers across the country, National Farmers Union applauded the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) efforts to expand crop insurance coverage for organic producers. In an announcement Thursday, Secretary Vilsack stated that organic price elections would expand to 57 crops for the 2016 and 2017 growing years, up from just four crops in 2011, and contract price options will be available for 73 crops.

“Whether organic or conventional, if you have crops in the ground, you face the risk of losing a harvestable crop to an unexpected weather event or natural disaster,” said National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson. “Producers transitioning to organic agriculture face an added level of risk in that their transitioning crop values had not been properly reflected in their crop insurance policies. I am pleased to see USDA expand its insurance coverage for transitioning producers.”

Sales of organic foods continue to break records. In 2014, the organic sector increased sales by 11.3 percent to more than $39 billion. Some producers have taken note of the price premiums and begun transitioning to organic methods of production. Organic agriculture is another opportunity for farmers and ranchers to add value to their operations, but they must have useful tools to mitigate risk.

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NFU Opposes Roberts’ GMO labeling bill – for now

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FB-logo-ofuU.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, (R-KS), the Senate Ag Committee chairman, has introduced a bill that would set up a nationwide system for the labeling of food with genetically modified organisms – or GMOs.

National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson issued a statement acknowledging NFU represents farmers on both sides of the GMO issue and said the family organization will not support the bill “in its current form.”

From Johnson:

“National Farmers Union (NFU) represents 200,000 family farmers and ranchers across the nation who employ a wide variety of practices and philosophies.  Many of our members have chosen to incorporate genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into their production methods, while others have made different choices.  The rights of GMO and non-GMO producers should be respected as equal while public concerns about GMOs are evaluated by federal agencies.

“NFU also values consumer rights, including the ability of consumers to have access to as much pertinent information as they want to know about their food.  We support mandatory labeling of foods derived from genetically engineered plants, although we do not have policy on what such labeling should look like. As such, NFU opposes the proposed GMO labeling bill in its current form.”

Funding Available for Western Lake Erie Basin Farmers for Water Quality Improvement Measures

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from the Ohio Dept. of Agriculture:

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio (Feb. 17, 2016) – The next round of funding is now available through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), as part of a tristate, five year, $17.5 million program funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).  The goal of the program is to reduce nutrients and harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie by assisting farmers in installing conservation practices that benefit water quality in the western basin of Lake Erie.

This year, applications received from Ohio livestock farmers will receive priority for funding. Nutrient management practices that allow for proper storage, timing, and placement of nutrients, will help livestock producers comply with Ohio’s new nutrient management laws. Ohio livestock farmers located in the western Lake Erie basin watershed interested in applying for technical and financial assistance to implement these practices should contact their local USDA Service Center as soon as possible to apply.

The Tri-State Western Lake Erie Basin Phosphorus Reduction Initiative is a partneroda-featship effort that includes public, private and non-profit organizations and is led in Ohio by the Ohio Department of Agriculture. These partner organizations assist with promoting conservation opportunities and monitor the impact of these practices implemented through the initiative.

For more information about conservation assistance available through the Tri-State Western Lake Erie Basin Phosphorus Reduction Initiative, visit Ohio’s USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service website at www.oh.nrcs.usda.gov.

Ohio Farmers Union Outlines Policy Priorities for 2016

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Ohio’s Farmland Property Tax Problem, Frack Waste Key Issues

 COLUMBUS – From opposition to the Obama Administration’s proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership to advocacy for further reform in the way farmland is taxed in Ohio, the Ohio Farmers Union announced 2016 policy priorities today that touch both state and federal government.

OFU President Joe Logan said that the Farmers Union is one of the few remaining farm organizations that looks out exclusively for the independent, family farmer.

He said that on issues like international trade, government-sponsored commodity checkoffs and many issues in rural Ohio arising because of fracking, OFU’s stance is rooted in “looking out for the little guy.”

“Neither the National Farmers Union, nor the Ohio Farmers Union, have been captured by huge multi-national corporate interests or the ongoing trend for big business consolidation in agriculture,” Logan said.

“Our policy priorities are different. If you’re running a family-sized farm or working to build a local or regional food and fiber network, OFU puts your interests first.”

Two highlights from this year’s priorities are proposed reforms to Current Agricultural Use Valuation and the standards for fracking waste disposal wells.

CAUV is the system for taxing farmland that is currently in production. It was enacted in the 1970s and values farmland across Ohio according to its agricultural value rather than a general market value. CAUV has kept much of Ohio’s farmland from disappearing into urban and suburban sprawl and has helped farm families across the state continue to work their farms. Since the end of the Great Recession, farm families in Ohio have seen their CAUV assessments increase 50-300 percent.

OFU is backing S.B. 246 and H.B. 398, both pending in their respective houses of the Ohio General Assembly. Logan said both bills would update the complex formula used to determine CAUV land value to better reflect changes to the economy since the Great Recession. The wild fluctuations experienced over the past several years would be taken out of the system, legislators hope.

OFU is also calling on the Kasich Administration to change Ohio’s regulations concerning the deep wells used around the state to dispose of waste from fracking. This waste comes from Ohio’s gas and oil production as well as that of neighboring states.

Specifically, the 4,000-member family farmer group wants a moratorium on so-called Class II injection wells used for frack waste. OFU wants any new frack waste disposal wells to be built and regulated under Class I standards. Along with ensuring the wells would be built more robustly, Class I wells are regulated by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency rather than the Dept. of Natural Resources.

In all, OFU is unveiling nine 2016 policy priorities. Please follow this link for a document outlining them in their entirety.

State Rep. Brian Hill, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur OFU Legislators of the Year

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State Rep. Brian Hill, OFU Convention, January 2016. Photo by: Ron Sylvester

State Rep. Brian Hill, OFU Convention, January 2016. Photo by: Ron Sylvester

COLUMBUS – At a luncheon closing the 82nd Annual Ohio Farmers Union Convention, the 4,000-member farm organization named State Rep. Brian Hill, R-Zanesville, and U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, their Legislators of the Year.

Each year OFU makes the awards honoring state or federal legislators who have championed independent family agriculture in their legislative career.

Hill is chairman of the Ohio House Agriculture committee, a working farmer, former Muskingum County Commissioner and is serving in his second term in the Ohio House.

Kaptur has served in Congress since 1982 and is a perennial winner of the National Farmers Union Golden Triangle Award. The Golden Triangle is awarded based on a Congress member’s advocacy for family farm issues and alignment with NFU priorities.

“Marcy Kaptur has been tireless in her advocacy for common sense consumer labeling – particularly mandatory country of origin labels for beef, pork and poultry,” said OFU President Joe Logan. “Marcy has also been strongly in favor of fair trade deals and stood with the Farmers Union against currency manipulation and so-called fast-track trade authority.”

Kaptur is working against the Trans-Pacific Partnership pending in Congress and being considered under “fast-track.”

“Brian Hill has been especially good for Ohio’s family farmers in fixing the problems with CAUV,” Logan said. “Even before Rep. Hill was chairman he stood with OFU members in seeking fair and measured reforms in farmland real estate taxes.”

Logan said he credits Hill for the currently pending H.B. 398 which would make improvements to the Current Agricultural Use Valuation formula and take some of the wild fluctuations out of the tax rates farmers are paying on their farmland in production.

Logan also said that as chairman of the House Ag Committee Hill has maintained an open-door policy for all sides on issues affecting Ohio agriculture.

“It should also be noted that Rep. Hill is one of the very few members of the legislature who is a working farmer. He gets us, he understands our issues,” Logan said.

Sen. Sherrod Brown to Help Ohio Farmers Union Kick Off 82nd Convention

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Ohio’s senior U.S. Senator and U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee member, Sherrod Brown, will deliver remarks to the 82nd Annual Ohio Farmers Union Convention on Friday.

Brown is expected to meet and greet OFU members around 11:45 on the convention floor and he’ll speak at 12:20.

“Sherrod Brown has been a friend to Ohio family farmers through thick and thin,” said Ron Sylvester, OFU spokesman.

“His command of agricultural issues and help in our fights in Washington for items like a fair Farm Bill and Country of Origin Labeling are things for which our members appreciate Senator Brown,” Sylvester said.

This being OFU Convention time, the family farm organization that boasts 4,000 members statewide will also discuss and vote on public policy positions for 2016.

National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson will also attend OFU’s convention and address the gathering on national policy issues.

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2016 Joseph Fichter Scholarship Essay Contest

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The “Benefits and Downsides of International Trade Agreements” is the topic for the annual Joseph Fichter Scholarship Essay Contest.

First-place will receive $750 and the runner-up will receive $250 toward their post-secondary education expenses.

Any member of the Ohio Farmers Union who is a high school senior is eligible to participate.

In order to participate, please download the contest rules and entry form.

All entries must be postmarked by December 31, 2015.

The Thanksgiving Farmer’s Share

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Thanksgiving-Farmers-Share1_featThe Ohio Farmers Union today released a Thanksgiving version of the organization’s popular Farmer’s Share graphic which shows farmers and ranchers receive only about 19 cents of every dollar spent by consumers on their Thanksgiving dinners.

“We want to remind Ohioans to be thankful for farmers and remind them that 80 percent of what they pay for food at the grocery are costs added after grain, meat and produce leaves the family farm,” said OFU President Joe Logan.

Click Here to View the 2015 Thanksgiving Farmer’s Share

Logan said these costs include processing, marketing, wholesaling, distribution and retailing according to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

“These added costs take a bite out of all of our family budgets – consumers and farmers alike – at Thanksgiving and throughout the year,” Logan said.

“As our American food system has gotten more reliant on industrial agriculture and a relative few huge companies dominating grain and meat markets, family farmers are as squeezed as many American consumers by the cost of what’s on our dinner plates,” Logan said.

The Farmer’s Share graphic was created and is maintained by the National Farmers Union.

Among some of the more startling statistics in the Thanksgiving Farmers Share:

  • Wheat farmers receive just 7 cents from the $3.39 consumers spend on a 15-ounce box of stuffing.
  • Turkey farmers net just over half (93 cents) of the retail value for a pound of turkey ($1.78).
  • Pumpkin farmers receive 25 cents, a mere 6.4 percent, of the $3.89 spent for canned pumpkin pie mix.

The Farmers Share is based on calculations derived from the monthly Agriculture Prices report produced by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service and compared to price points of common grocery food items at a Safeway supermarket.

“The Farmers Share is about so much more than just family farmers – we’re all part of a system,” Logan said.

Logan said recent events such as further international consolidation of the American beef, pork and poultry markets as well as uneven trade deals like the Trans-Pacific Partnership do not bode well in the long run for American consumers or family farmers.

“It’s been a long time since the Farmers Share has actually moved in the direction of the farmer. It’s our belief that consolidation of agricultural markets has not delivered for consumers in terms of price, food safety or quality.”

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Ohio Farmers Union
P.O. Box 363
1011 N. Defiance Street
Ottawa, Ohio 45875
Phone: (419) 523-5300
Toll Free: (800) 321-3671