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"Ohio, the place to live!" "Agriculture and consumers reach the perfect balance." "Alaska -- the 49^th state to adopt Ohio tax simplification."

These were some of the headlines that a group of production, business and government representatives came up with last month when envisioning the status of Ohio’s agricultural environment in 2030. The steering committee, along with working groups, have been working since last summer on developing a plan that maps out the agriculture industry’s direction for the next 25 years. The Ohio Agricultural Roadmap plan is to be released in June.

"It couldn’t be going better. We’re having an open dialogue with tough issues and honing in on some core issues impacting agriculture and business," said Constance Jackson, OFBF vice president of agricultural ecology.

The steering committee met Dec. 16 to identify core business climate and government/regulatory issues to be incorporated into the roadmap. In future meetings, the committee will identify key issues in the areas of industry versatility and agriculture’s competive advantage, environment and natural resources, consumer needs and education, research and technology.

During the most recent meeting, the steering committee broke up into two groups to discuss and narrow down the working groups’ assessment of the key business climate and government/regulatory issues. Participants included agricultural producers from around the state and representatives from OFBF, Nationwide Insurance and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

During one session, Janice Welsheimer, with Nationwide sponsor relations, addressed concerns about keeping the farm in the family while Dwayne Siekman, of the Ohio Corn Growers Association, talked about the need for qualified people in high-technology agriculture jobs.

Labor, role of government and education were the top three issues that both groups identified in the business climate sector.

Jeff Zellers, OFBF treasurer, talked about the need for what his group called "ag knowledgeable government."

"We need leaders who are confident and knowledgeable in agriculture," he said.

After identifying the core issues, the two groups pretended they were writing an article for Time magazine in the year 2030 about the food and agricultural industry in Ohio. They described the industry in 2030 and what changes took place over the past 25 years that helped ensure sustained viability.

During their brainstorming sessions, the groups talked about reduced government spending, a consolidated state government, an adequate and legal labor force and a simpler but competitive tax structure. They also envisioned that consumers had become advocates for agriculture and that the government was run like a business.

When someone said there was a 10-year moratorium on law school graduates, Brent Porteus, an OFBF board member and Coshocton County beef producer, quipped that the article was for Time magazine, not Sci Fi Journal.

Deb Indoe, who has a dairy farm and landscaping business in Medina County, said developing an agricultural roadmap is important for the industry.

"We’re losing so much agriculture that it’s important to do something now. We have to look beyond the short-term and what is important for just us," she said.