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Welcome to 2025!

As we enter a new year, it is natural to reflect on the year we just completed. The word “resilience” stood out to me when thinking about 2024. The Oxford Dictionary defines resilience as “The capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.” The internet also took me to the U.S. Department of State website, which states, “Resilience refers to the ability to successfully adapt to stressors.”

Both definitions made me think of farmers. The agricultural sector seems to encounter various difficulties and stressors, and 2024 was particularly challenging for Ohio. Net farm income has declined by nearly 25% over the last two years and the nearly 50-year low commodity prices are stressors for sure, but the historic drought tops the list. A staggering 95% of the state faced drought conditions, with 23 counties designated as natural disaster areas due to this drought. Even with the fall and early winter rains that have come, drought conditions are not over. Numerous counties in southeastern Ohio are still in a severe drought. And many are still listed as in a moderate drought.

The effects of the drought have been extensive, leading to very poor pasture conditions, inadequate hay growth, low pond levels, dry creeks and failing crops. The financial impact has been huge for farms across Ohio — the vast majority are family-owned businesses and have had to make drastic decisions just for their businesses to survive.

When you farm land that your family has worked hard to obtain, maybe generations ago, the pressure is there to keep it in the family and keep farming.

Farmers are used to operating on thin margins, but 2024 created nonexistent margins with expenses exceeding income. Thankfully, many counties were eligible for drought assistance programs, thanks to the USDA, and hopefully, 2025 will bring conditions that enable Ohio farms to recover and rebuild.

I’ve painted a negative and depressing picture, but the speech Paul Harvey gave at the 1978 Future Farmers of America convention came to mind. Mr. Harvey began by supposing there was an eighth day of creation, where God needed a caretaker for his created paradise … “So God made a Farmer.” In his speech, he painted a picture of what a farmer was — a figure of resilience and compassion. A person who values integrity, working diligently to weed, seed, feed, breed and more, without cutting corners.

Paul Harvey’s words have resonated for decades, and if it has been some time since you last read them, I suggest you look them up online.

I believe that we all can learn to be resilient, whether you are a farmer or not. When we are faced with adversity, it is during those times we often grow the most.

Being resilient in difficult times doesn’t mean you have to or should do it all on your own. We need to reach out for help when we need it and we need to check on our friends we know are going through difficult times.

Your experiences have equipped you to help others. May you face 2025 with resiliency.

Happy New Year!

Submitted by Mary Smallsreed, a member of the Trumbull County Farm Bureau and grew up on a family dairy farm in Northeast Ohio.

OFBF Mission: Working together for Ohio farmers to advance agriculture and strengthen our communities.