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The agriculture/food service industry is the largest in Ohio, employing an estimated one in seven Ohioans. Now there’s a move to promote that fact on Ohio license plates.

Late last year the Ohio House passed a 65-part bill that proposed several state designations, including the official state fruit, children’s author and several commemorative license plates. One of the special license plates would have been for Ohio agriculture. But the Senate ran out of time and failed to act on the measure, which was originally a highway bill that had 64 amendments tacked on to it.

With a new General Assembly in place, Ohio Farm Bureau will again propose that legislators pass a bill that establishes a special agriculture license plate, said Rocky Black, senior director of policy and political affairs. He said that the original proposal last year called for having $10 from every agriculture license plate fee earmarked for college scholarships in agriculture or ag-biosciences. Biofuels research and training initiatives for farm machinery safety also would receive funding.

Black said the proposal was to have Ohio Farm Bureau design the license plate and its logo. He credited Rep. Steve Reinhard, R-Bucyrus, for putting the proposal into the highway bill.

"Farm Bureau and other interested parties plan to talk with legislators again about getting this passed," Black said. "This is a good way to promote Ohio’s largest industry."