The Ohio Department of Agriculture is distributing grant money to 22 counties across the state, aimed at helping their communities plan for growth.
The Land Use Planning Grants range from $25,000 to $50,000 per county, funded through the state budget which was approved by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in June 2025.
"The General Assembly, they saw the need as well, realizing that Ohio is growing in so many different areas, but we have to plan for that growth," said Orhio ,Department of Agriculture Director Brian Baldridge.
A total of $1 million will be used to develop, update or implement land use plans across the state.
Land use plans doutline how land, infrastructure and resources should be used or preserved.
“It is a working document. It should should be referenced as growth occurs, as local communities, local governments plan for the future. It's a reference guide to help guide the direction of economic development growth here in Ohio.”
“Bottom line, we went from about 14.5 million acres of productive farmland to 13.5 million acres of productive farm land. So as we think about preserving farmland, we just have to make sure there's a vision and a plan.”
Ohio is a local control state which means local governments have legal and political authority over their own affairs.
With this structure, land use plans must be created at a local or county level.
"It really showcases the fact that all of our different communities work different all across the state," Baldridge said. "Whether you're rural county, whether your urban county or whether your county that butts up to urban, there's a lot of different moving parts."
'Growth is envisioned, not reactive'
These ODA grants were made available during a vital time in Ohio's economic growth as multiple sectors have grown rapidly across the state.
And that growth includes food and agriculture, which contributes $124 billion dollars to the economy each year.
Baldridge said farmers have to be a part of this planning process with such a massive impact on the state's economy,
"We have make sure that we have a voice at the table so that we can be part of that conversation as we want to make sure one of our largest industries here in Ohio survives for the future," he said. "And it's all making sure that we're having that vision for the future."
Baldridge said this type of financial support from the ODA will help to ensure that all sectors are included in the conversation as those plans proceed.
"For me, it's personal actually, from back in my county commissioner days, back in 2008, when I was a county commissioner in Adams County," he said. "There was this grant opportunity that was out there, same type of thing for counties to either dust off or put in place a land use plan for the county. So as we talked about farmland preservation and the big picture here in Ohio, it was one of our priorities at the Department of Agriculture that we put into the budget."
Baldridge said Ohio has lost about 1 million acres of farmland so those land use plans have to include the ag sector.
“Bottom line, we went from about 14.5 million acres of productive farmland to 13.5 million acres of productive farm land," he said. "So as we think about preserving farmland, we just have to make sure there's a vision and a plan.”
Baldridge said the program is in its early stages but offers supports other ODA programs that protect legacy farmland including the farmland preservation program.
"That's a program that families can sit at their kitchen tables and they can envision what they want out of their personal property," he said. "Families decide to make a decision to say, 'we want to keep our farm in farmland for generations to come.'"
