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 Steve Stranahan, a member of the AFT Board of Directors, is heading up a brand new initiative in his hometown of Perrysburg, Ohio.
Free AFT “No Farms No Food” tote bags were handed out to customers at the local farmers’ market to promote farmland protection and the importance of conservation in maintaining a local base of food production.
This is the first give-away of its type with plans to replicate the event in other locations!
American Farmland Trust and other Ohio organizations are planning displays this summer at major agricultural events to promote farmland preservation this year to the general public and to farmers across the state. The first booth will be at the Ohio State Fair in Columbus from July 30 to August 10. The second may be at the Farm Science Review, near London, Ohio, on Sept. 16-18. The goal is to create awareness of the need for farmland preservation and to generate support among the population.
Partners in the efforts include AFT; Ohio Department of Agriculture, Office of Farmland Preservation; Ohio State University and the Center for Farmland Policy Innovation; and the Coalition of Ohio Land Trusts. The non-profit partners also will promote a ballot initiative to renew the $400 million Clean Ohio Bond Fund, which includes $25 million for the Ohio Agricultural Easement Program.
The State Fair booth will be at the north entrance of the fairgrounds alongside the agriculture department’s Ohio Proud market, which features Ohio-produced foods. The goal is to create awareness of the need for farmland preservation and to generate support among the population.
The groups hope to also have a display at the Farm Science Review, an annual agricultural trade fair organized by Ohio State University about 20 miles west of Columbus. The exact location is to be determined, but the groups would share space to show farmers the wide range of farmland preservation options available from the public, private and non-profit sectors: easement purchases, easement donations, agricultural security areas, transfer of development rights, planning, zoning and promotion of farm viability and local foods.
The agriculture department and OSU have large display areas at the Review. The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation will have materials available at the shared booth and also will promote farmland-preservation options at its own location.
Ohio Landowners Guide Travels the State
American Farmland Trust is taking the Ohio Agricultural Landowners Guide [PDF] on the road. Since the publication of 2,000 copies of the guide in time for the Ohio Farmland Preservation Summit in November, AFT’s Ohio office has distributed nearly 500 copies at workshops, farm organization offices and through mailed requests. The 16-page full-color guide has been well received by those making requests and by those who have attended the first of at least ten Traveling Toolbox workshops.  More
Ohio Landowners Guide Is Published
The Ohio Agricultural Landowners Guide [PDF] is available to farmers who want to conserve and protect their land. The 16-page full-color guide summarizes a full range of federal conservation programs, state farmland preservation options and assorted local initiatives. More
Ohio Is Saving Farmland
AFT was instrumental in the creation of Ohio’s agricultural easement purchase program. The program anticipates placing agricultural easements on a total of 24 farms as part of its first year of funding. To date, $15.6 million in Clean Ohio Funds and $5.4 million in federal
funds have been used to purchase agricultural easements on 50 farms with options to purchase easements on 25 additional farms totaling 14,986 acres. More |
