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Recently, food and agriculture groups released the sixth annual Feeding the Economy report, a historic farm-to-fork economic analysis revealing how these sectors influence local and the broader United States economies. The report shows that 1.5 million jobs in Ohio are tied to food and agriculture and those industries add over $10 billion to the state’s bottom line annually. As those numbers continue to grow, so does the need for improved and additional infrastructure and the recruitment of more workers into these career paths. JobsOhio is a major part of those efforts and on this Our Ohio Weekly, I visit with the organization’s Senior Director of Food & Agribusiness Tim Derickson.

00:00 – Tim Derickson, Senior Director of Food & Agribusiness at JobsOhio, shares the agency’s mission and a recent study about Innovation and Infrastructure in Ohio.

23:50 – On this “To the Beat of Agriculture,”  hear from the representative of the 13th District, Jerry Lahmers. He represents Ohio Farm Bureau members in Carroll, Harrison, Jefferson and Tuscarawas counties on the organization’s state board of trustees. Learn about his family roots in Newcomerstown and the one goal he hopes to achieve in a 50-year career.

32:20 – Launched in 2015, the Farm Bureau Ag Innovation Challenge was the first national business competition of its kind focused exclusively on rural entrepreneurs. It is a national business competition that showcases U.S. startups developing innovative solutions that address challenges facing America’s farmers, ranchers and rural communities. Emma Larson, Director, Industry Relations for American Farm Bureau, has the details.

42:20 – After the major news of Intel building a massive technology plant in Licking County, “progress” is making its way deeper in rural areas of Ohio. That has spurred some conversations about how future economic development projects will look, and some are wondering if eminent domain will play a role in finding the land resources for those projects. Ohio Farm Bureau Policy Counsel Leah Curtis talks about economic development and eminent domain.