Overview
In 2017, Ohio was ranked in the top 10 states for production of grains, nursery and greenhouse crops, hogs and pigs, and horses. Ohio farms raised farm commodities worth over $9 billion. A recent study estimated that Ohio’s combined food and agriculture sectors generated almost $50 billion in gross product and roughly 900,000 jobs in 2015 (DiCarolis et al. 2017).
While agriculture remains a significant economic engine and dominates the rural landscape, the first two decades of the 21st century were a time of rapid change for farmers in Ohio. This report summarizes state-level trends in farm numbers, farm sales, land use, workforce characteristics, and economic performance between 1997 and 2017.
Because Ohio contains farms of nearly every size, type, and configuration, the report explores how these changes have affected different types of farms in different ways. These changes are actively re-shaping and changing the local economies and social structure of Ohio’s rural communities. senr.osu.edu/ohiofarmtrends.
