Applications for Ohio Farm Bureau Health Plans now available
Members have three ways to apply: contacting a certified agent, calling 833-468-4280 or visiting ohiofarmbureauhealthplans.org.
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Ohio has a new budget for fiscal years 2022-2023. The $74 billion budget includes education reform, statewide cuts to personal income taxes, and investments to help keep Ohioans employed and to create more job opportunities across the state. It also checks many other Ohio Farm Bureau priority issues boxes.
“From rural broadband and local meat processing capacity, to funding for H2Ohio, the Ohio Department of Agriculture and Ohio State, lawmakers and Governor DeWine heard from Ohio Farm Bureau and our members and responded to the issues laid out in our Ohio Agriculture and Rural Communities Action Plan with this new budget,” said Adam Sharp, executive vice president of Ohio Farm Bureau. “We appreciate the legislature and the administration for their recognition of the challenges facing Ohio’s farm and food sector and for the action to provide funding to address the concerns of their rural constituents across the state.”
Rural broadband
One of the biggest line items in the new biennial budget is $250 million for the Ohio Rural Broadband Expansion grant program, created earlier this year by lawmakers to allow internet service providers to apply for grants that will help fund the infrastructure needed to provide faster internet access to underserved rural Ohio communities.
“This is the largest public investment in broadband we have ever seen in Ohio,” said Jenna Reese, Ohio Farm Bureau’s director of state policy. “Broadband access is essential in rural Ohio for many reasons. Farmers use it to market their products, to keep track of commodity prices and to utilize new precision technology. Rural Ohioans’ quality of life depends on technology, and their need for reliable internet access is critical.”
Water quality
Gov. Mike DeWine’s H2Ohio initiative, a comprehensive, data-driven water quality plan to reduce harmful algal blooms, improve wastewater infrastructure and prevent lead contamination, received $170 million in the budget – $49.3 million of that will be used to expand the program to 10 additional counties in the Lake Erie Watershed.
Meat processors
The budget also created the Meat Processing Investment grant program and funded it at $10 million to help existing plants in Ohio expand their capacity and fund new construction, including guidelines for reviewing and approving the grants.
“This is specifically for small and medium-sized meat processors in Ohio to start up or expand their operation,” said Brandon Kern, senior director of state and national policy for Ohio Farm Bureau. “The goal is to increase meat and poultry processing capacity in Ohio to make our food system more resilient for farmers and consumers.”
Other key victories in the budget for Ohio Farm Bureau include:
- $1.75 million in additional funding for the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab.
- $58.3 million for the TechCred Program and Individual Microcredential Assistance Program.
- $20.5 million for high school students to receive an Industry-Recognized Credential.
- The Fair School Funding Plan, which contains greater funding for career-technical education and replaces set dollar amounts with weights that can be multiplied by the base cost.
- A 3% personal income tax cut statewide.
- Full funding for The OSU College of Veterinary Medicine.
- Prohibition of park districts in Lake and Mahoning counties from using eminent domain for recreational trails.
DeWine signed the budget into law July 1.
My first recommendation in your journey is to start out with a local farming friend or mentor along with joining an organization like Ohio Farm Bureau.
We’re just so thankful for the Farm Bureau and the foundation for helping put this together. And of course, the Boyert family for the vision they had with this grant. It’s jumping us forward 10 years. It’s unbelievable.
I could not have done it without the resources I have found through Farm Bureau.
It wasn’t until I joined the Wilmington College Collegiate Farm Bureau that I truly saw how my passion could translate into leadership, advocacy and a career.
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.
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.
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.
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