Ohio Ag Net | Ohio's Country Journal Ohio Ag Net | Ohio's Country Journal 
By Ty Higgins, Ohio Ag Net
It can be easy to focus on the challenges facing agriculture right now, from tight margins and weather concerns to high input costs and uncertainty in commodity markets. But despite those pressures, growth is still happening across Ohio agriculture.
“A lot of that comes from some livestock, both contract and cattle, facilities and things of that nature,” said Rudi Pitzer Perry, regional vice president of agricultural lending with Farm Credit Mid-America. “They’ve seen a massive amount of growth over the last couple of years. There’s been some good profit in those areas too. So, it’s not overly surprising, but it’s good to see.”
Growth is not limited to livestock, however. Land continues to change hands as established farms expand and younger producers enter agriculture.
“We’re still seeing that land changing hands, that expansion, both from next-generation operations maybe getting larger and taking advantage of some opportunities that they’ve been able to have,” Pitzer Perry said. “Technology adoption continues to be able to grow and evolve as well.”
While there are differences between operations and regions, Pitzer Perry said the farms that are successfully growing tend to share several characteristics.
“A lot of these operations have strong working capital, so they were really disciplined in saving some money back for some of the leaner times,” she said. “They also are pretty disciplined in cost control. A lot of these operations know their breakeven. They manage to them and so they know what their farm is able to handle.”
Communication is another important common denominator.
“If anything comes up, they’re pretty quick to let their lender know, talk through what that might be, or their tax accountant or maybe a crop adviser or a grain merchandiser for them, so they can work through those problems early,” she said.
Pitzer Perry also emphasized the importance of transition planning, particularly as more young people enter agriculture.
“As somebody who’s worked through a lot of really tragic situations with families, just having those hard conversations now and knowing what the plan is, and also taking steps to train that next generation so that they’re ready if anything were to happen,” Pitzer Perry said.
Land values are another important piece of the agricultural growth picture. Farm Credit Mid-America’s annual land value benchmarking provides a look at how those markets are changing across Ohio.
“Every area of Ohio experienced growth, pretty phenomenal growth,” Pitzer Perry said. “Some of that is because some land’s being taken out of production, so there’s a scarcity factor there too.”
Even with challenging commodity markets, there continues to be demand for farmland. However, buyers have become more selective.
“We do find when we’re looking at those that producers are a little pickier in what they’re buying,” she said. “The better-quality ground, good drainage, good soil, is definitely holding its value a little bit better and growing a little bit better. People are still buying, but they are a little pickier about what they’re buying.”
With agriculture constantly changing, Pitzer Perry said there are lessons farmers can take from operations that are successfully navigating the current environment.
“Profitability beats production,” she said. “Your focus needs to be on what is the most profitable for my operation.”
For Ohio farmers looking to grow in an uncertain agricultural economy, Pitzer Perry said the key is not necessarily getting bigger. It is making sure growth fits the long-term goals and financial health of the operation.
