July/August 2025 Our Ohio
Protecting Ohio agriculture is deeply woven into the fabric of what Ohio Farm Bureau does day in and day out. The theme of this edition is ag and the law.
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There is a dizzying array of ways that members can research the latest news about changes to agricultural rules and regulations, but sometimes even the pros have to sprint to keep up.
Case in point? The Corporate Transparency Act, which was put on hold Feb. 27, 2025, and updated in March to only apply to foreign businesses. It reversed course in the courts no less than four times earlier this year. The CTA had required businesses, including farms, to report beneficial ownership information. It was a law passed in 2020, which was intended to address and curb money laundering.
Ohio Farm Bureau Associate General Counsel Leah Curtis noted the CTA on-again/off-again requirement on a Legal with Leah podcast back in February:
“We did know in mid-January that the U.S. Supreme Court had reversed the nationwide injunction that had been in place, but in a separate lawsuit, a judge had set another nationwide stay of the law. So everything kind of remained on hold at that point. But last week, that court did issue a decision to lift its nationwide stay as well, meaning that the CTA is back on and businesses are going to need to file their beneficial owner information (by March 21).”
The day after that podcast was released, the CTA was once again on hold, when the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network announced they would not issue any fines or penalties or take enforcement action against companies based on failure to file or update beneficial ownership information reports by the deadline. Then as of March 26, all entities created in the United States and their beneficial owners became exempt from the requirement to report information to FinCEN.
Farmers are used to uncertainty, and this year has certainly seen an abundance of it particularly on the federal level, but even farmers can sometimes feel whiplash. One way members can keep up with changes in laws and regulations is through Farm Bureau.
“We know farmers have enough to do and don’t need to add searching through court dockets and sifting through conflicting news stories to find out what they need to do,” Curtis noted. “Our goal is to get that information out to our members and get to the point of what they need to know.”
County Farm Bureaus offer insight about the latest local laws and regulations that impact members’ everyday lives, and impacts them through the county policy development process. American Farm Bureau advocates for farmers and landowners on a national level and communicates the latest developments through MarketIntel and Newsline at fb.org.
Ohio Farm Bureau offers comprehensive, member-exclusive guides with the latest information for landowners, small-scale food businesses, and energy and utility resources, just to name a few. Ohio Farm Bureau also offers the Legal with Leah podcast with up-to-the-moment information and the weekly Buckeye Farm e-Newsletter to update members.
In short, the best place for the latest information on a host of laws and regulations directly impacting all of agriculture are at the fingertips of Farm Bureau members. Visit ohiofarmbureau.org for more information.
KEY POINTS
- Rules and regulations in agriculture can change or be modified rapidly.
- Keeping up with all the latest news and information in agriculture is time consuming.
- Farm Bureau is the resource for members to receive updates on ag policy and law changes.
WHAT’S NEXT
Members should update their current email address to receive Buckeye Farm eNews each Friday. Log into ohiofarmbureau.org to update information, contact your county Farm Bureau or call your county Farm Bureau at 614-249-2400 and follow the prompts to your county Farm Bureau.
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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