By Andi Anderson
The Ohio Farm Bureau achieved a major policy milestone at the American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention, where all ten policies brought forward by Ohio delegates were approved and adopted as national policy.
The convention was held in Anaheim and brought together farm leaders from across the country.
Key policy highlights focused on emerging technology, livestock protection, and farmland preservation. These topics reflect growing concerns across agriculture as innovation expands and land use pressures increase nationwide.
Ohio leaders emphasized the need for thoughtful and balanced policy development that supports farmers while protecting private property rights.
Speaking on technology policy, Brad Bales, senior director of state and national policy for the Ohio Farm Bureau, explained the organization’s leadership role in artificial intelligence policy development.
“In the technology space, we have a history here,” Bales said. “Two years ago in Salt Lake City, we started the very first artificial intelligence policy. Mike Videkovich, who’s on our (state) board, was very instrumental in getting that passed, and so we built upon that.”
As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, delegates approved policy requiring clear disclaimers on images generated by AI technology. This helps ensure transparency for consumers and protects trust in agricultural communication.
“We want to make sure that we’re constantly taking a look at (AI) as a national organization, to make sure (our policy) is up to date as much as possible because (AI) is always evolving, so that was critical,” Bales said.
Another major policy addressed the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones. The approved national policy supports criminal protections to safeguard livestock from harassment caused by unmanned aircraft.
“We’ve had some instances across the state where livestock were getting harassed by these devices,” Bales said. “We want criminal protections put in place to make sure that our livestock and our herds are taken care of.”
Farmland preservation was also a key focus as renewable energy projects and data centers expand across rural areas. Bales highlighted the urgency of the issue.
“We are losing hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland just in Ohio alone, over the past five years,” he said. “So what we really want to do is make sure that we’re taking a look at our farmland preservation strategy, and what does that mean as a national group? What is acceptable? What’s not when it comes to land use planning? Because as a private (property) rights organization, we don’t want to have government telling us what we can or can’t do, but at the same time, how do we make sure we’re preserving that farmland and we can be able to continue to do what we do when it comes to our livelihoods and our way of life? We’ve got to make sure that we have at least the foundation when we’re talking with policymakers on what to do.”
Through these adopted policies, Ohio Farm Bureau continues to shape national agricultural policy and support farmers across the country.
Photo Credit: ohio-farm-bureau
Categories: Ohio, Sustainable Agriculture