Policy & Politics

HB 89 - Ohio Agriculture Week Signed into Law

Published Mar. 15, 2011

HB 89 (Derickson) – Agriculture Week HB 89 passed both Chambers with unanimous support and was signed into law by Governor Kasich on March 11th. HB 89 designates the second full week of March as Ohio Agriculture Week to honor the state's agriculture community.

Update on HB 22 - Animals at Large Bill

Published Mar. 15, 2011

HB 22 (Bubp) - Animals at Large HB 22, which is an OFBF priority issue for 2011, will clarify Ohio law by establishing clear standards for civil and criminal liability and will ensure that farmers whose animals escape fences and buildings through no fault of the owner (natural disasters,....

Update on Efforts to Repeal the Ohio Estate Tax

Published Mar. 15, 2011

HB 3 (Grossman, Hottinger) & SB 90 (Jordan) – Repeal the Estate Tax HB 3 is an OFBF priority bill. HB 3 passed the House Ways and Means Committee on Feb. 16. At this time, the bill has not been scheduled for a vote before the full House of Representatives. Sources within the House...

2011 Federal Legislative Priorities

Published Feb. 22, 2011

Maintaining a strong safety net for farmers, establishing a new direction for dairy policy, growing agricultural trade opportunities, regulatory oversight and reducing additional regulatory burdens, tax policy, food quality and safety, and energy and transportation issues are our top priorities.

2011 State Legislative Priorities

Published Feb. 22, 2011

Eliminating Ohio's Estate Tax, ensuring a sound business climate and low tax burden, addressing Ohio's state budget, transportation, energy, and environmental issues are among the top state legislative priorities for Ohio Farm Bureau in 2011.

Urgent Action Alert: Help End Ohio's Estate Tax

Published Jan. 31, 2011

Help End Ohio's Estate Tax by Calling or E-mailing your State Representative and State Senator. On average, 84 percent of farm assets are real-estate based. Burdensome estate taxes can cause the loss or break-up of family farms when heirs are forced to sell assets to pay the tax...

Stabenow officially announced as Senate Ag Chair

Published Jan. 31, 2011

After being formally appointed yesterday to serve as chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) said she looks forward to leading the committee and emphasized her belief that “agriculture is critical to our economy and is helping to lead our recovery.”

Senators express concerns about crop insurance

Published Jan. 31, 2011

On Thursday, a bipartisan group of senators sent a letter to Vilsack that commended USDA for proposing a Good Performance Refund program aimed at strengthening the federal crop insurance program.

Farm Bureau welcomes USDA biotech decision

Published Jan. 31, 2011

Farm Bureau is pleased by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack’s announcement that the Agriculture Department will fully deregulate Roundup Ready alfalfa, American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman said.

PUCO schedules commercial motor carrier listening sessions

Published Jan. 31, 2011

Ohio’s motor carrier community is invited to provide the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) with testimony regarding new safety rules that apply to private intrastate commercial motor vehicles. The PUCO will host five listening sessions to learn from small carriers about the operational...