Ohio farmers watching state budget process

Ohio farmers are paying much higher real estate taxes even as the prices for the agricultural commodities they produce are far below those of recent years. But many farmers are banking that the state will address the issue in the next two-year budget that passed the House and is now in the Senate. It would shift the focus of a formula that determines the value of taxed agricultural land, relying more on U.S. Department of Agriculture data to reflect the land’s farming value. The County Commissioners Association of Ohio is watching the developments but has yet to take a position. It has members on both sides, including some who are farmers.