Ohio Farmland Trends and Preservation
By: Xiaoyi Fang and Zhining Sun, Ph.D. students and Ani L. Katchova, Professor and Farm Income Enhancement Chair in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics at The Ohio State University and Rabail Chandio, an Assistant Professor and Extension Economist in the Department of Economics at Iowa State University.
Click here to access the pdf version of the report.
- 95% of farmland is dedicated to cropland in Ohio.
- Cropland values in Ohio have had an upward trend, and increased by 9% in 2023, while the number of acres operated has declined over the years.
- 85% of the total rented farmland in Ohio was owned by non-operator landlords in 2014.
- Ohio’s operator landlords received $174.39 million in rent in 2014. Non-operator landlords received $844.62 million in rent, or 82.9% of the total rent paid in 2014.
- 9% of Ohio’s farmland is held by individuals aged 55 and over, suggesting a significant transfer of land to the next generation is expected in the future.
- Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Farmland Preservation Office has offered several programs to help preserve Ohio farmland.
