Ohio's Leadership Must Work With Farmers

Ohio’s political leadership could work with the farming community and come up with some practical goals toward a sustainable farm economy on all scales in the next few years. Imporatn issues consist of energy production that includes ethanol and even wind and solar farms, rural internet infrastructure, soil and conservation, run-off, access to new markets and new product adaptation as in industrial hemp and of course regulations, good or bad.

There are signs that things can change as we witnessed in the last twenty years the return of the wine industry to Ohio.  Ohio’s wineries have grown in number in a very short period of time, from 60 winery operations in the early 2000’s to now 200+. . 

Ohio is back in the beer business too, with new farm operations growing distinctive hop varieties, a key ingredient to beer making. And the potential is there for Ohio to become a leading hemp producer now that it has been made legal by the federal government for farmers to grow hemp and sell and transport it anywhere in the U.S.  It has been proven for a long time that Hemp can provide for an incredible amount of uses in manufacturing, from chemical to material. 

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Ohio lawmakers just need to help create the mechanisms to allow for that to happen, and smoothly for once.