Ohio Farm Bureau’s Issue Advisory Teams spent the day in Cincinnati June 15 engaging with peers on interests and issues pertaining to Farm Bureau policy during the 2017 Trends and Issues Conference.

The teams are organized around the following topic areas:

  • Advocacy and Economic Value
  • Farm Policy and Business Sustainability
  • Food Chain and the Consumer
  • Industry Engagement
  • Labor, Transportation and Energy
  • Environment
  • Workforce Development and Education
  • Livestock, Food and Nutrition
  • Health Care and Safety
J.J. Jones from the Center for Food Integrity discusses consumer food trends and trust.
J.J. Jones from the Center for Food Integrity discusses consumer food trends and trust.

Part of the day was spent at Cincinnati State College where the teams met to discuss potential or current Farm Bureau public policy topics, as well as heard from J.J. Jones from The Center for Food Integrity about consumer food trends and trust.

Attendees also took a tour of the Consolidated Grain and Barge (CGB Enterprises)’s facility at the Port of Cincinnati. While there, Farm Bureau volunteers and staff learned about the aging lock system on the Ohio River and how grain makes its way from Ohio, down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to the Port of New Orleans and mostly off to grain markets in Japan.

Advisory teams will continue to meet throughout the year on various policy issues. Team members review, research, discuss, draft and recommend new policies, programming and/or activities addressing their specific interest areas.

Team members will actively share their work with their county Farm Bureau president and board of trustees. Their input could be used by county Farm Bureaus to initiate programs at local, multicounty and state levels.

Ohio Farm Bureau membership

The issue of property taxation remains as one of the biggest challenges our members face today. Ensuring agricultural property is valued for its agricultural potential and not development is critical to the continued success of Ohio agriculture.
Matt Aultman's avatar
Matt Aultman

Darke County Farm Bureau

Giving farmers a voice
The plan we are on is great. It’s comparable to my previous job's plan, and we are a sole proprietor.
Kevin Holy's avatar
Kevin Holy

Geauga County Farm Bureau

Ohio Farm Bureau Health Benefits Plan
I could not have done it without the resources I have found through Farm Bureau.
Gretchan Francis's avatar
Gretchan Francis

Trumbull County Farm Bureau

Bringing the farm back to life
We really appreciate what Farm Bureau has done to get people interested in this line of work and workforce development and getting people interested in this industry.
Jody Brown Boyd's avatar
Jody Brown Boyd

Brown's Family Farm Market

Finding farm labor
We work terrifically with the Ashtabula County Farm Bureau, hosting at least one to two outreach town hall events every year to educate new farmers and existing farmers on traditional CAUV and woodlands.
David Thomas's avatar
David Thomas

Ashtabula County Auditor

CAUV: Past, present and future
Because we are younger farmers just starting out, Farm Bureau has a lot of good opportunities and resources to help us grow in the future.
Hannah Kiser's avatar
Hannah Kiser

Sandusky County Farm Bureau

Farm Bureau involvement
Through the Select Partner program, we became educated in farm insurance and weren't just selling policies. It became more and more clear why farmers need an advocate like Ohio Farm Bureau.
Chad Ruhl's avatar
Chad Ruhl

Farm manager, CSI Insurance

Select Partner Program
So many of the issues that OFBF and its members are advocating for are important to all Ohioans. I look at OFBF as an agricultural watchdog advocating for farmers and rural communities across Ohio.
Mary Smallsreed's avatar
Mary Smallsreed

Trumbull County Farm Bureau

Advocacy
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