When it comes to Ohio farmland, the three metropolitan areas of Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati, not surprisingly, lead the way in land loss. A new report by CFAES takes a deep dive into the decline of Ohio farmland between the 20-year period of 2002 and 2022.
Ani Katchova, professor and Farm Income Enhancement program chair in the CFAES Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics and graduate students Xiaoyi Fang and Rae Ju, compiled and published the report Ohio Farm Numbers, Land in Farms, and Agricultural Land Lost to Development in March.
The counties of Cuyahoga, Franklin, and Hamilton had the largest percentages of agricultural land lost to development. Cuyahoga County experienced the largest decrease in number of farms, with the number dropping by 35%. Franklin County had one of the highest percentages of agricultural land loss to development at 93%.
“The 2022 Census of Agriculture data shows the number of farms in Ohio declined by 2.3%, and land in farms declined by 6.4% between 2002 and 2022,” Katchova said.
To compile their report, the Ohio State team used satellite imagery from the National Land Cover Database, which shows land of different categories and changes in land categories over time.
“Our report provides a helpful snapshot of Ohio’s agricultural land to county and state officials, Ohio Department of Agriculture, Ohio Farm Bureau, and the agricultural industry. Ag stakeholders have been very concerned about the declining farm numbers and farmland being developed,” Katchova said. “Using these statistics, the best estimate for the agricultural land lost to development in Ohio is 180,691 acres over the last 20 years compared to the loss of 931,089 acres of land in Ohio farms during the same time period.”
Discover more and read the full report at go.osu.edu/landlost.