Ohio Farmers Union

Serving Family Farmers and Consumers Since 1934



United to Grow Family Agriculture Since 1934

  • About
    • The Farmers Union Triangle
    • Vision
    • OFU Leadership
  • Issues
    • 2020 Virtual Lobby Days
    • OFU Policy & NFU Policy
    • 2019 Lobby Day Registration
    • Get Involved!
    • NFU Climate Leaders
  • Education
    • 2019 OFU Essay Contest
    • Ohio Farmers Union Scholarships
    • Farm Safety
    • Renewable Energy Curriculum
  • Insurance
    • Hastings Mutual Insurance Co.
    • Health & Other Offerings
    • Ohio BWC Group Coverage
  • Join Us
    • Online Sign-Up
    • Member Benefits
    • Insurance
  • Blog
  • Events

OFU lauds initial tweaks to CAUV, but more is needed

June 1, 2015 By Ron Sylvester 1 Comment

Woodlands need more attention from state officials

Mel Borton, Ohio Farmers Union.

Mel Borton, Ohio Farmers Union.

In more than 80 years of life spent on and around Ohio’s farms, Mel Borton has seen cycles of woodlands preservation and cutting the woods on farmland.

“One sure way to remove woodlands across the state is for the real estate tax code to essentially promote chopping down trees,” said Borton.

“In my first 40 years, farmers cleared their woods as fast as they could. In my last 40 years farmers were conserving woodlands. It seems like the pendulum is swinging away from conservation and that’s a shame,” Borton added.

Mel Borton, left, talks to fellow OFU member Karen Wood at OFU's summer picnic in 2014. The Ohio Farmers Union is the second-largest general farm organization in Ohio.

Mel Borton, left, talks to fellow OFU member Karen Wood at OFU’s summer picnic in 2014. The Ohio Farmers Union is the second-largest general farm organization in Ohio.

He fears that’s exactly what Ohio’s Current Agricultural Use Valuation system for taxing farmland is doing. He and other members of the Ohio Farmers Union are pleased that the Kasich Administration began fixing CAUV this year, but many, like Borton, worry that woodland valuations are still not functioning in the way that CAUV framers intended.

Borton, a retired farmer and former lobbyist for OFU, spoke out at last Thursday’s Ohio Dept. of Taxation CAUV Advisory Committee hearing.

“I told the committee that I volunteer answering phones at our (OFU’s) state office and farmers are telling me that they are clearing their woods because of CAUV,” Borton said.

“The folks in Columbus have done some good things this year to get the wild swings in CAUV under control, but they haven’t done enough on woodlands,” Borton added.

Ted Finnarn, OFU’s resident CAUV legal expert and a member of the state’s CAUV advisory committee said that woodland values will be lower in the 2015 tax year as compared to 2014, but OFU and other ag groups need to keep the pressure on the tax department to continue reviewing woodland valuations and the capitalization-interest rate.

“I think the Tax Department is moving in the right direction, but much more needs to be done to come up with CAUV values that are more reasonable,” Finnarn said.

Finnarn, a Greenville attorney, has been on the advisory committee since its inception in the 1970s. The committee met last week to hear public comment and to release the 2015 valuations for CAUV.

Ohio Tax Commissioner Joe Testa said his department has heard and responded to concerns about CAUV.

“I am certainly aware that there are some farmers and farm land owners facing tax increases but believe the factors impacting land values are moving in a favorable direction for the agriculture industry in Ohio,” Testa said.

“The CAUV remains a very valuable program for Ohio’s farmers which results in
significant property tax reductions when compared to land not being used in agriculture,” he added.

Testa said the values released last week affect the 24 counties in this year’s triennial CAUV re-valuation rotation.  According to the department, the average CAUV per acre in 2015 in Ohio is $1,388, which is 17 percent less than the 2014 valuation of $1,668.

The department made changes, as suggested by the Ohio Farmers Union and Ohio Farm Bureau earlier this year.

On behalf of OFU, Finnarn worked closely with the Farm Bureau and others across the state for more than two years as CAUV values began to wildly fluctuate.  Among the recent changes, Finnarn points out the following differences between the 2015 tax year and previous years:

  • Modifications to the Capitalization-Interest Rate by going to a longer term fixed rate with an 80% loan-20% equity split versus the previous more restrictive 60% loan-40% equity calculation.  This will have the effect of lowering CAUV values from the originally proposed values.
  • Correction to woodland values by updating and increasing the costs of clearing from $500 to $1,000 and increasing sub-surface drainage to $770 and surface drainage to $380.  Woodland values will be lower for 2015 as compared to 2014.
  • Improving the accuracy of input data in regards to crop prices and cost data by bringing it more current in regards to crop production yields, crop price values and costs.  Inputs from the Ohio State University crop enterprise budget for 2015 were put into the formula so that this represents no lag time.  These costs have increased – lowering the CAUV values from the original proposal.

Finnarn said some values are still increasing from the 2012 values, but not as much as they would have without the changes. Values will not change for the 41 counties that underwent their reappraisals and reevaluations for tax year 2014 (increased taxes paid in 2015).  However, these counties will benefit from the changes in the future when they recycle for reevaluations in three years in tax year 2017.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: CAUV, Current Agricultural Use Value, Joe Testa, John Kasich, Mel Borton, Ohio, Taxes, Woodlands

SB 150 – Nutrient Management Bill – Signed by Kasich

June 9, 2014 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

As Gov. John Kasich signs Sub. S.B. 150, the bill's sponsors and ODA director look on. L-R standing: Sen. Bob Peterson, Sen. Cliff Hite, ODA Director David Daniels. Photo: Ron Sylvester, OFU.

As Gov. John Kasich signs Sub. S.B. 150, the bill’s sponsors and ODA director look on. L-R standing: Sen. Bob Peterson, Sen. Cliff Hite, ODA Director David Daniels. Photo: Ron Sylvester, OFU.

Substitute S.B. 150 is the legislation which mandates Ohio Dept. of Agriculture certification for most farmers and others who apply chemical fertilizers. ODA officials have said that it will take until 2017 before most farmers in Ohio are affected by the new regulation. The bill was originated through work by Senators Cliff Hite and Bob Peterson as well as ODA, Ohio EPA and the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources in reaction to phosphorous overloads in the Lake Erie watershed and other waters in the state. OFU took a neutral stance on the bill after legislators removed manure from the state’s legal definition of “fertilizer” and as part of the definition of “agricultural pollution.”

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Bob Peterson, Cliff Hite, David Daniels, John Kasich, SB 150

OFU President Joe Logan’s Letter to Gov. Kasich Asking for Veto on SB 310

May 30, 2014 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

Ohio Farmers Union President Joe Logan today released a letter he has emailed and posted to Gov. John Kasich regarding S.B. 310 which would freeze Ohio’s renewable energy and energy efficiency mandates.

Read the Letter

Learn More About This Issue

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Energy Efficiency, Joe Logan, John Kasich, Mandates, Renewable Energy, SB 310

Ask Gov. Kasich to Veto S.B. 310 and Preserve Ohio’s Renewable Energy Mandate

May 30, 2014 By Ron Sylvester 1 Comment

The Ohio Farmers Union has passed a “Special Order of Business” in at least the last three conventions calling on Ohio’s elected leaders in Columbus to preserve landmark, bipartisan legislation passed in 2008 which established energy efficiency and renewable energy mandates for Ohio’s public electrical utilities. Known as “25 by 2025” the 2008 law put utilities on a path toward ensuring that at least 25% of the power they sell in Ohio comes from renewable energy resources.

Despite the fact that the the evidence shows job creation, a reduction in air pollution and even an increase in Payments in Lieu of Taxes in areas where renewable energy projects are creating new businesses and jobs, a minority of well-connected Ohio business and political interests have sought to roll back the mandates on primarily ideological and narrow economic ground.

Here are just a few facts that came out over the course of testimony on S.B. 310:

  • Ohio’s four major utilities have spent $456 million on energy efficiency programs – but saved themselves and ratepayers just over $1 billion from 2009 through 2012.
    • AEP Spent: $158 million; Saved: $377 million
    • Dayton Power & Light Spent: $49 million; Saved: $154 million
    • Duke Spent: $90 million; Saved: $197 million
    • FirstEnergy Spent: $159 million; Saved: $317 million
  • The numbers above come from the utilities themselves!
  • Ohio’s air has been cleaner due to the renewable energy and energy efficiency mandates:
    • Annually, over 9,000 tons of the smog-forming pollutant Nitrogen Oxide has been removed from our air
    • Annually, over 40,000 tons of Sulfur Dioxide – a pollutant linked to asthma and other respiratory problems – has been removed from our air
    • Annually, 1,000 tons of mercury is prevented from entering our air due to the mandates

Call Governor Kasich office today at (614) 466-3555. Give the receptionist your name and hometown and tell them you’re calling to urge the governor to VETO S.B. 310. Tell them you’re concerned about going backwards on air pollution and creating a more diversified energy economy. If you are involved in the renewable energy economy either on your own farm or in an off-farm career, let them know.

The governor is expected to sign S.B. 310, but I can tell you from experience working for members of Congress and former Gov. Strickland that these calls matter. Sometimes they even change minds.

Finally, send this email to your non-OFU friends and contacts. This bill really is a step backward for Ohio and serves only the interests of a very (politically connected) few.

Filed Under: Action Alerts, Blog Tagged With: AEP, Dayton Power & Light, Duke, Energy Efficiency, FirstEnergy, John Kasich, Mandates, Renewable Energy, SB 310

OFU Efforts Pay Off – Grain Indemnity Update Signed by Gov. Kasich

July 11, 2013 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

Ohio Gov. John Kasich signs Senate Bill 66 which updates Ohio's Commodity Handlers law, also known as the grain indemnity fund and program.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich signs Senate Bill 66 which updates Ohio’s Commodity Handlers law, also known as the grain indemnity fund and program.

COLUMBUS – Gov. John Kasich today signed into law S.B. 66 which affords Ohio’s farmers status as first in line for assets in the event of a grain elevator failure and boosts the size of the farmer-funded grain indemnity program.

The Ohio Farmers Union and other state ag organizations worked for two and a half years with the bill’s sponsor, State Sen. Cliff Hite (R-Findlay) on the legislation. Hite also serves as chairman of the Ohio Senate Agriculture Committee.

“Family farmers are the winners with the updates to the grain indemnity law,” said Roger Wise, president of OFU.

“Before grain indemnity, smaller operators could be driven entirely out of business in the event of a grain elevator bankruptcy. We’ve been covered since 1983, but some have questioned – and the state has had to go to court – over the question of who is first in line as a creditor when an elevator fails.”

“It’s clear now in Ohio law that regarding elevator failures, the farmers who did business with that elevator are first in line,” Wise added.

Additionally, the updated law increases the size of the farmer-funded grain indemnity fund which pays producers for losses in the event of an elevator failure. OFU sought to have the fund size increased due to several years of historically high prices for corn and soybeans.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Cliff Hite, John Kasich, Ohio Farmers Union, Ohio Grain Indemnity Fund, Roger Wise, SB 66

PHOTOS – Kasich Signs SB 66 – Grain Indemnity Law Update

July 11, 2013 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

Below are a couple of photos taken during the bill signing ceremony for SB 66 today. Clicking on the images gives you a full res shot to download.

hite_kasich_640

L-R: State Sen. Cliff Hite (R-Findlay), SB 66 primary sponsor; Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

sb66group640

L-R: Roger Wise, president, Ohio Farmers Union; Linda Borton, executive director, Ohio Farmers Union; State Sen. Cliff Hite (R-Findlay); Christopher Collins, aide to Sen. Hite; Tony Anderson, Ohio Agricultural Commodity Advisory Commission; Mel Borton, Ohio Farmers Union; Allen Stockberger, Ohio Agricultural Commodity Advisory Commission. Seated, Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Cliff Hite, John Kasich, Linda Borton, Ohio Grain Indemnity Fund, Roger Wise, SB 66

Ag News Roundup – September 23, 2011 – Harvest, Fracking among topics

September 23, 2011 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

A few things of interest from the national & Ohio media:

Kasich advocates switching state vehicles to nat gas, says “We cannot stop fracking”

Columbus Dispatch

Ohio might join with neighboring states and convert government vehicle fleets to run on natural gas, which would boost demand for gas from the region’s shale formations, Gov. John Kasich said yesterday.

The governor spoke about the plan in the closing address of his two-day energy conference. He also said his office will announce a comprehensive energy policy by spring, although he gave few details about what it might include.

Kasich said he spoke with Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett about the natural-gas-fueled vehicle idea, and members of his staff have brought up the idea with counterparts in Indiana and Michigan.

Read More

Nat Gas industry says 200,000 jobs could result from Ohio shale gas

 Dayton Daily News/AP

Natural gas trapped in two shale formations beneath Ohio could mean thousands of new jobs, if activity in other states is any indication.

In Pennsylvania, which sits on one of the same shale formations as Ohio, gas and oil industries hired 72,000 people between the fourth quarter of 2009 and the first quarter of 2011, according to Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry statistics.

The number of new hires for the core gas industries — extraction, drilling and pipeline work — is smaller but still doubled to 18,837 from the fourth quarter of 2007 to the fourth quarter of 2010.

Tim McElhinny, an analyst with the Pennsylvania Labor Department, said all hires can’t be attributed to new drilling, but there are so many of them that a portion must be caused by work on the Marcellus shale.

Read More

Industry says gas boom could produce economic miracle

The Plain Dealer

… The new jobs study, contained in a 92-page economic impact analysis, was prepared by economic research company Kleinhenze & Associates of Cleveland for the Ohio Oil & Gas Energy Education Association.

The conclusions are based on propriety information obtained from large gas and oil corporations that jockeyed for months to lease mineral rights from rural land owners. Marietta College, Ohio State University, Central Ohio Technical College and Zane State College contributed to the data analysis.

Among the study’s main conclusions:

• Over the next five years, oil and gas producers are expected to spend $34 billion in exploration and development, pipelines, royalty payments to landowners and other leasing expenditures.

• New jobs would start slowly — 4,614 jobs this year, increasing to 22,297 next year — and then mushroom by tens of thousands from 2013 through 2015, culminating at an estimated 204,520 jobs by 2015.

• Wages, salaries and personal income attributable to the production would soar to an estimated $12 billion per year, including $1.6 billion in royalties, by 2015.

• Annual tax revenues, including income, property, commercial activity and “severance” taxes or royalties tied to the production would total $478.9 million by 2015.

Read More

Corn Yields Coming in Mixed

agriculture.com

Combines are rolling in the Corn Belt. So, what’s the crop making so far?

Yields are all across the board as harvest gets rolling in corn and soybean country. Corn moisture levels are still on the high side in a lot of areas, though, keeping harvest progress a little on the slow side.

“Things are moving slow. Corn is not drying down very fast, if at all it seems,” says Benton, Illinois, farmer Kelly Robertson. “Working on odds and ends between trying to haul some corn out and it doesn’t seem like I am getting much accomplished.”

But, where harvest activity has been able to pick up, the results are mixed.

“We are running here in northeast Kansas. Corn is pretty good — above average from what I was expecting,” says Seneca, Kansas, farmer Rod Tangeman says. “So far, we have had fields go 168 [bushels/acre], 170, 105, 142, 163 and 158.”

Read More

Obama would cut ag programs

agriculture.com

When it comes to farm policy, Congress often ignores White House proposals. It passed the 2008 Farm Bill over President George W. Bush’s veto and it’s possible both parties will ignore some of the ideas put forth Monday in President Barack Obama’s Economic Growth and Deficit Reduction Plan,

Obama didn’t ignore agriculture, however. He wants to eliminate or reduce these ag programs:

  • Eliminate Direct Payments. The White House says they’re not needed at a time of high farm income, adding that “Economists have shown that direct payments have priced young Americans out of renting or owning the land needed to enter into farming.” It would save $3 billion per year.
  • Crop Insurance. The Administration is looking for more cuts here. It says currents costs are $8 billion per year, with $2.3 billion going to insurance companies and $5.7 billion to farmers as premium subsidies. USDA has already trimmed $600 million a year from support for insurers and hasn’t touched subsidies of farmer premiums. Obama’s deficit cutting plan would trim another 200 million a year from insurance companies, arguing that they would still have a return on investment of 12%. Farmer premium subsidies for coverage at the 50% catastrophic level would not change but premium subsidies on higher levels over coverage would be shaved by two basis points, or $200 million per year (a 3,.5% cut from current levels).
  •  Conservation. Obama would cut conservation programs by $200 million a year “by better targeting conservation funding to the most cost-effective and environmentally- beneficial programs and practices.” Even with those cuts, conservation assistance is projected to grow by $60 billion over the next 10 years.

Read More

Farm lobby’s power withers as programs face cuts

Politico

Washington’s debt crisis brings American agriculture to a crossroads this fall and no other sector of the economy may have more to gain or lose from the debate in Congress over deficit reduction.

With record exports predicted for 2011, farmers begin with a proven self-interest in stable world markets, but their very success makes them all the more vulnerable now to deep cuts from the federal subsidies so synonymous with agriculture for decades.
Read More

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Fracking, John Kasich, Natural Gas, Ohio, Rural Economic Development

State Agencies Work with Ohio Company to Deliver Data on Grand Lake St. Marys Algae

July 24, 2011 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

Screenshot of monitoring results of water quality at Grand Lake St. Marys

News releases from Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s office and the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency said last week that a public-private partnership is bringing results in monitoring water quality levels at Grand Lake St. Marys.

Working with Ohio DNR and EPA, YSI, Inc. of Yellow Springs has installed water monitoring stations at the 13,000 acre lake. For the past two years Grand Lake St. Mary’s has been a stew of toxic algae. The state has tried repeated treatments of alum in the water to get the algal blooms under control. Recreational activities at the lake have come to a standstill causing problems for the local economy during outdoor activity seasons.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Algae, Grand Lake St. Marys, John Kasich, Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources, Ohio EPA, Water Quality

Kasich Administration Sets New Fees for Weights & Measures Devices

July 11, 2011 By Ron Sylvester 1 Comment

The Ohio Dept. of Agriculture has announced a new $75 fee on the weights and measures devices used by many farmers.

Devices covered by the new fee include:

  • Vehicle scales
  • Railway scales
  • Livestock scales
  • Bulk rack meters
  • Vehicle meters
  • LPG meters

According to ODA, for 2011, device owners have until September 30, 2011 to register their devices. Registrations received after September 30, 2011 will incur a $20 late fee.

An ODA fact sheet on the fee may be downloaded here.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Agriculture, Family Farmers, John Kasich, Ohio Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures

OFU Members Alert: Save Ohio Consumers Counsel Funding

June 21, 2011 By Ron Sylvester Leave a Comment

The Ohio Farmers Union is urging members to take action this week and contact members of the Ohio General Assembly regarding funding cuts for the Office of the Ohio Consumers Counsel (OCC).

Established in 1976, the OCC was formed to represent residential customer interests in matters regarding their public utility services including, water, natural gas, electric and telephone services.

The OCC serves as the residential consumers’ lawyer in rate cases and other actions which come before the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio. When the large utility corporations propose rate changes for instance, the OCC is the statutorily authorized representative of homeowners and family farmers before the PUCO. OCC also provides educational and policy services and operates a residential utility customer call center serving as a problem solver and go-between for citizen consumers and the utility companies.

According to a recent op-ed in the Columbus Dispatch by OCC leader Janine Migden-Ostrander, the OCC has established a solid track record of representing the public’s interest:

During the current budget period, the Consumers’ Counsel, through its direct efforts, has saved customers $54.8 million in potential rate increases. Through its collaboration with other stakeholders, including advocacy organizations for business, senior citizens, low-income residents and others, the Consumers’ Counsel has produced shared savings of $1.9 billion. Often, we have participated in negotiated agreements that have provided benefits that helped keep people connected to their electric or natural-gas service or produced energy-efficiency programs aimed at lowering their utility costs.

Further, when we succeed in reducing rate increases, the benefits flow not only to residential customers but to business and industrial customers, as well. For example, if we negotiate a revenue savings of $10 million in an electric-rate case, 60 percent of those savings go to businesses, small and large. Our work helps to keep energy costs down for all utility customers and, therefore, contributes to job retention and economic development.

So, what’s the problem?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Janine Migden Ostrander, Joe Logan, John Kasich, Ohio Budget, Ohio Consumers Counsel, Ohio Farmers Union

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • YouTube

Latest News from the Ohio & National Farmers Union

2022 OFU Special Orders

Annual Policy Priorities For the eighty-eighth year, the Ohio Farmers Union has established the organization's public policy priorities at the … Read More

Ohio County Fair Schedule 2022

It's looking great for the first full, uninterrupted Ohio fair season since the beginning of the pandemic. Of special note, the Ohio State Fair will … Read More

Rural Broadband Gets Win in Ohio Budget

State Senators Matt Huffman, R-Lima, and Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, tried to kill $90 million for rural broadband expansion, yet the Ohio … Read More

State Legislators Listen – Rural Broadband Back in Ohio Two-Year Budget

In a pleasant surprise for rural Ohio, the biennial budget was agreed to Monday with Gov. Mike DeWine's full $250 million funding request for rural … Read More

Check Out the Entire Blog

NATIONAL FARMERS UNION

Click to Take Action



Contact

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

Copyright Ohio Farmers Union© 2023 | Site by: RCS Communications

 

Loading Comments...