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SB 226 Proponent Testimony — Evan Callicoat, Director of State Policy (November 19, 2024)

Summary

Proponent testimony on SB 226 by Evan Callicoat, Director of State Policy, to the House Economic and Workforce Development Committee, dated November 19, 2024. The testimony says members have grown much more concerned about foreign ownership and that Ohio has lost nearly 300,000 acres of farmland in the last 5 years. Callicoat says land owned by foreign adversaries is only one of many factors contributing to farmland loss and encourages the General Assembly to look at the issue holistically. The testimony also cites the AFIDA Improvements Act of 2024 (S. 3666), which aims to strengthen current law on reporting of foreign ownership.

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“SB 226 Proponent Testimony — Evan Callicoat, Director of State Policy (November 19, 2024).” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2024-11-19-econ-workforce-dev-testimony-testimony-13277-916db621de/, SHA-256 70033e4868e7283c6a3e53963973a8e920dd08abda5a4f0e10c3d5a723deb69f.

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               House Economic and Workforce Development Committee
                           SB 226 Proponent Testimony
                       Evan Callicoat, Director of State Policy
                                 November 19, 2024

Chairman Lorenz, Vice Chair Santucci, Ranking Member Upchurch, and other honorable
members of the House Economic and Workforce Development Committee, thank you for
the opportunity to provide proponent testimony on SB 226. Our members have grown much
more concerned about foreign ownership in recent years. Any threat to Ohio farmland is
one that our members and OFBF take very seriously.

Land owned by foreign adversaries is only the latest threat to protecting farmland not just in
Ohio, but across the country. In the most recent “Ag Census” published by the US
Department of Agriculture, Ohio has lost nearly 300,000 acres of farmland in the last 5
years. In most if not all cases, that land will never be able to be productive farmland again,
which is a unique issue that our industry faces compared to others. As Ohio continues to
face economic, housing, and energy development pressures, our organization hopes to
engage with all sectors for effective land use management. We are thankful to the sponsors
and the General Assembly’s interest in this issue. Still, land held by foreign adversaries is
only one of many factors contributing to farmland loss, and we encourage the General
Assembly to look at this issue holistically and help Ohio’s number one industry continue to
flourish.

Congress has also introduced bipartisan legislation hoping to address this issue through the
AFIDA Improvements Act of 2024 (S. 3666), co-sponsored by both of Ohio’s Senators. That
bill aims to strengthen current law on reporting of foreign ownership by expanding data
collection and enforcement against suspected non-filers. Without having real-time data, it is
impossible to know the true threat to Ohio and American agriculture from foreign
adversaries.

I thank Senator Johnson for introducing this legislation and the committee for allowing
OFBF to provide testimony today. I’d be happy to answer any questions at this time.

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