2025 Policy Proposals Passed

(Lima, OH) — The Ohio Farmers Union (OFU) held its 91st Annual State Convention on January 25^th. Members gathered in Lima to celebrate the organization’s work in 2024 and learn from experts on tariffs, state education funding and crop price outlooks for 2025. During the event, Bryn Bird was elected as the new President, succeeding Joe Logan, who has served the organization with dedication for the past 10 years.

Bird is co-owner of Bird’s Haven Farms in Granville. She is partners with her brother, Lee Bird. Bird’s Haven is a multi-crop vegetable farm that also operates a community supported agriculture subscription service. Bird’s Haven is a regular at area farm markets and Bryn Bird helped establish what is now the Canal Market District in Newark, Ohio. 

Bird has a history of advocating for family farmers and local agriculture. She has been an active member of the Farmers Union for more than ten years and has served on the National Farmers Union (NFU) policy committee.

“People are more concerned than ever about corporate control over our food system, and that’s exactly what the Ohio Farmers Union has been fighting against for the past 91 years,” said Bird.

“I’m excited to work alongside our members to tackle these challenges and continue advocating for policies that support family farms and protect consumers.”

Joe Logan, who has served as President of OFU for the past 10 years has been a tireless advocate for farmers across Ohio. His leadership has been instrumental in advancing the interests of family farmers, supporting fair trade policies, and promoting sustainable farming practices.

 Logan has earned widespread respect for his efforts regarding clean water throughout the state and working to educate farmers about their rights regarding various checkoff progams. 

“It’s time for this 91-year-old organization to shift to the next generation,” said Logan.

“Bryn Bird is uniquely qualified to represent a farm organization in Ohio that is solely dedicated to family farms, fairness in the ag industry and preserving our natural resources for the next generation,” Logan added.

As OFU president, Bird will serve on the NFU Board of Directors and have an active role in guiding the state and national Farmers Union public policy and government lobbying efforts.

During the convention, OFU also set their policy agenda for 2025. This agenda includes fair and adequate public-school funding, fair legislative districts, protecting Ohio’s natural resources while supporting American manufacturing, public option for health insurance, and continued concern over injection well contamination.

About Ohio Farmers Union
The Ohio Farmers Union is a nonprofit organization dedicated to representing the interests of family farmers in Ohio. With a focus on economic fairness, sustainability, and rural community support, the OFU works to ensure that family farms remain viable for future generations.

To see the Ohio Farmers Union 2025 policy proposals, (Special Orders of Business), please see ohfarmersunion.org.

91st Annual Meeting to be Held in Lima, Ohio with Keynote Speakers Ag Economists Ian Sheldon and Barry Ward from Ohio State

The 2025 Ohio Farmers Union State Convention will be held in Lima, Ohio on Saturday, January 25 at the Howard Johnson’s Hotel and Convention Center.

Prof. Ian Sheldon, an economist specializing in ag economics and international trade will be a keynote speaker followed later in the day by Prof. Barry Ward. Former USDA official Chris Gibbs will speak as well as State Board of Education member and former Ohio State Sen. Theresa Fedor. The program will include a presentation from the National Farmers Union focusing on the changing politics in Washington, D.C. regarding the Farm Bill, trade and efforts to curtail anti-competitive practices among the large, multi-national seed, feed and nutrient companies.

Former State Senator Theresa Fedor and current State of Ohio Board of Education member will also speak at the convention regarding state of Ohio public education policy.

OFU will also consider and pass ‘special orders of business’ that serve as the organization’s public policy emphasis for 2025.

Water quality in Ohio, public education funding and local rule are among the issues OFU will consider.

“In one sense – nationally, we’ve been here before,” said OFU President Joe Logan.

“We’re anticipating some significant changes as the new Trump Administration assembles and take heart in that he understands that rural America is a critical constiuency.”

OFU members, farmers and consumers are encouraged to attend the OFU convention. For those interested in attending, navigate to the registration page to sign up. Inquiries may be addressed to Ron Sylvester at rcs@ronsylvester.com, including questions about accomocations. The cost of the convention is $40 per person which includes a luncheon.

Ohio Farmers Union Members and Friends:

Save the date! September 14, 2024 will be the OFU Summer Board Meeting and Member Luncheon. We will have a full schedule of speakers and a farm tour:

Know you already want to RSVP? Click Here!

Saturday, September 14, 2024

Place: 

Methodist Theological School in Ohio

3081 Columbus Pike

Delaware, Ohio 43015

10 a.m. – OFU Board Meeting (All Members welcome to attend)

12 p.m. – Lunch Served in Dining Hall (Lunch is Free – and the local food at MTSO is a treat!)

1 p.m. – YES! on Issue One Redistricting Ballot Measure Explainer, Speaker TBD

1:30 p.m. – Alcinda Folck, Program Leader, Agriculture and Natural Resources Central         State University 

2 p.m. – 2024 CAUV Report and 2025 Outlook, Ted Finnarn, Ohio Dept. of Taxation CAUV Advisory Committee Member

2:15 p.m. – Washington Update – Farm Bill, Speaker TBD

3 p.m. – Tour of Seminary Hill Farm, located on Campus.

Lunch is free to all who attend, but we need a count for MTSO. Please RSVP by clicking this link to fill out a short RSVP form. There is a place on the form for the number in your party, so one person may fill out for a group.

Use the form below to RSVP so we can plan meals. Don’t forget to hit the Submit button!

Board members will be onsite at 10 a.m., but if you aren’t coming to the Board meeting, please show up in time for lunch!

Questions? Contact Ron Sylvester at rcs@ronsylvester.com.

Thank you and Joe Logan and I hope to see you on the 14^th!

WASHINGTON— The Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday passed its Fiscal Year 2025 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) funding bill, which included robust funding for the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division and restored a critical component of the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act (MFFMA) that had been rescinded in the Fiscal Year 2024 funding bill.  

NFU is leading the fight to ensure the DOJ Antitrust Division has the resources it needs to promote fair and competitive markets in agriculture and across the American economy. 

National Farmers Union (NFU) President Rob Larew expressed appreciation for the legislation: “We commend Chair Jeanne Shaheen and Ranking Member Jerry Moran for moving forward legislation that fully reinstates the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act and provides strong funding for the DOJ Antitrust Division. Corporate monopolies have been squeezing family farmers, ranchers, and our communities for decades, and we need a strong DOJ Antitrust Division that can fully enforce our nation’s competition laws. NFU looks forward to continuing to work with the Senate Appropriations Committee to empower the Antitrust Division to take on rampant monopoly power in agriculture and throughout our economy.”  

The partisan FY25 House CJS Appropriations bill cuts funding for the DOJ Antitrust Division and fails to restore the MFFMA. In contrast, the bipartisan FY25 Senate CJS Appropriations bill did the opposite, strengthening funding for the division and restoring MFFMA to its originally intended purpose. NFU will continue advocating for Congress to adopt the Senate’s approach and fully fund the DOJ Antitrust Division and restore the MFFMA.  

Background: 

Earlier this year when Congress passed legislation to keep the government open, the funding bill included a damaging policy rider that would hamper the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division’s ability to enforce our nation’s antitrust laws and promote fair, open, and competitive markets. The rider unraveled a key component of the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act (MFFMA), legislation that Congress passed in 2022 with overwhelming bipartisan support.  

Unfettered mergers and acquisitions in agriculture over the last several decades have squeezed American family farmers and ranchers. The MFFMA restructured premerger filing fees, raised fees for the largest mergers, and was intended to strengthen enforcement of our antitrust laws by providing additional funding to the DOJ Antitrust Division through increased access to the merger filing fees. The government funding bill in the spring of 2024 rescinded some of DOJ’s access to those filing fees, hampering DOJ’s antitrust efforts. 

In recent years, the DOJ’s Antitrust Division had fewer employees than it did in 1979. Funding for federal antitrust agencies has failed to keep pace with overwhelming corporate consolidation in our economy, which harms family farmers, ranchers, and our communities. Under the Biden-Harris Administration and under the leadership of Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, the DOJ Antitrust Division is taking aggressive action to promote fair and competitive markets across many sectors of the American economy, including in agriculture. The MFFMA recission and inadequate funding would erode the important work happening at DOJ. 

NFU’s Fairness for Farmers campaign has brought the devastating impact of monopolies on family agriculture into the national spotlight. Learn more at www.fairnessforfarmers.org.  

Sustainable aviation fuel and clean fuel production tax credits have the potential to benefit farmers while lowering America’s carbon emissions, but shortcomings in the provisions could put the benefits out of reach for many farmers in the U.S.

Four groups, including the National Farmers Union, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Soybean Association and National Corn Growers Association, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and U.S. Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, asking them to ensure the Clean Fuel Production Credit (45Z) works for U.S. farmers.

The letter states, “As farmers, we are growing the feedstocks necessary for clean fuel production, such as corn, soybeans and other biomass. The 45Z tax credit has the potential to be a game-changer for our industry, offering a valuable incentive for the production and use of biofuels that will lower carbon emissions. However, without clear domestic feedstock requirements, the benefits of this policy are at risk of being diverted from American farmers.”

Currently, there is no requirement that feedstocks be grown domestically, which means foreign feedstock producers can take advantage of the clean fuel production credit. This goes against the broader goal of supporting U.S. agriculture and rural communities, and will lead to market distortions.

Additionally, the bundling of climate-smart agriculture practices and cumbersome reporting requirements in the sustainable aviation fuel guidance will exclude a large number of farmers from benefitting from the SAF credit. “The implementation of no-till farming, cover cropping and enhanced efficiency fertilizers requires significant upfront investments in both time and resources. Without a greater incentive, many farmers may simply be unable to implement these bundled practices based on economic limitations alone,” the groups write. “Moreover, even if geography allows farmers to comply with the CSA (climate-smart agriculture) requirements, the cumbersome reporting requirements will dissuade even the most sophisticated farming businesses from participating. Additional options for compliance must be considered that would give farmers the ability to comply with CSA requirements without running afoul of the Internal Revenue Service.”

The groups are asking the administration to create a domestic feedstock requirement for the clean fuel production tax credit and to broaden eligibility for the sustainable aviation fuel credit while addressing the unworkable paperwork requirement.

Read the full letter here.

To read an American Farm Bureau Federation Market Intel on the tax credits, click here.

WASHINGTON – NFU Vice President Jeff Kippley represented family farmers and ranchers today at a House Agriculture Committee hearing. “Examining the Consequences of EPA’s Actions on American Agriculture” provided a platform for discussing various concerns related to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulations and their impact on the agricultural sector. 

In his testimony, Kippley emphasized the necessity for a balanced approach, with reasonable and appropriate regulations to safeguard our natural resources. 

“To build a successful farm business over the long term, I need my operation to be profitable,” Kippley said in his testimony. “Sometimes I worry that the wrong federal regulations could harm my business, but I also know that it’s important to have practical rules of the road by which everyone must abide. Properly designed and enforced regulations help protect all of us from bad actors. … EPA plays an essential role in protecting our environment, but the Agency should do more to limit the impact of its regulations on family farmers and ranchers. One of the best ways to do this is through regular engagement and partnership with farmers and communities. We commend the Agency for creating the new Office of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Farmers Union looks forward to working with EPA and this Committee to ensure our voices are clearly heard by the agency.”  

Testimony highlights:  

• Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS): ”The game of regulatory ping-pong over WOTUS has gone on far too long. Like everyone else, we want simplicity and clarity.” 
• Crop Protection: ”Most farmers don’t have the scientific expertise to evaluate crop protection products for safety, but we know these products are essential for our operations. EPA’s rules, oversight and labeling guidelines help keep us safe.” 
• Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and Biofuels: ”The RFS has been the most successful clean fuels policy in the U.S. by making renewable fuel more affordable, creating jobs and reviving rural economies, and reducing oil imports and air pollution. Future action by EPA should support the program’s growth and success … We also appreciate the administration’s focus on Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). I hope the Committee will support the adoption of agricultural feedstocks for SAF production.” 
• Right to Repair: ”It’s incredibly important that farmers have the option to fix our own equipment or go to independent mechanics of our choosing, just like everyone can with their cars and trucks. But some farm equipment manufacturers believe farmers cannot be trusted to repair their own equipment … EPA Administrator [Michael] Regan affirmed that EPA’s [Clean Air Act] regulations support independent repair, and that independent repair doesn’t facilitate emissions tampering. We urge Congress to ensure the Right to Repair.”  

Jeff Kippley’s full testimony is available here.  

Ohioans can start planning visits to all of their favorite fairs across the state. The Ohio Department of Agriculture today released the official dates for the 2023 fair season, which includes Ohio’s 94 county and independent fairs and the Ohio State Fair.

The Paulding County Fair will kick off the 2023 fair season on June 12, and the season will wrap up on October 14 with the Fairfield County Fair. For a complete schedule, click here.

In addition to setting and approving the dates for the independent and county fairs, the department is responsible for helping to assure the safety of fair amusement rides, monitoring livestock shows to help assure honest competition and coordinating animal health efforts with local veterinarians.

Annual Policy Priorities

For the eighty-eighth year, the Ohio Farmers Union has established the organization’s public policy priorities at the state and federal level. These special orders of business were adopted by the delegates to OFU’s 88th Annual Convention, via video conference in early March 2022.

Click here for a downloadable PDF.

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