Recent Blog Posts

Guest author: Carl Zulauf, Emeritus Professor, Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics, Ohio State University

Note:  The 2025 Reconcilation Bill (known "One Big Beautiful Bill Act") was signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4, 2025. We thank our guest author and Farm Bill expert, Dr. Carl Zulauf, for his analysis of the key farm bill provisions of this legislation.

 

SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP)

Specifies household size adjustment factors relative to 4-person size used for Thrifty Food Plan.

Requires that updates of the Thrifty Food Plan be cost neutral.

Cost of the Thrifty Food Plan is indexed for CPI inflation.

Work requirements are increased, including that able-bodied individuals work through age 64.  Curtails Secretary of Agriculture’s discretion to issue work requirement waivers.

Limits placed on some expenses and government payments used in determining SNAP eligibility.

If a state’s SNAP error rate exceeds 6%, requires a state matching share of 5% to 15% depending on the error rate.  (Assessment: reduces Federal spending without reducing benefits.)

Reduces Federal share of administering SNAP from 50% to 25% starting FY (Fiscal Year) 2027.

Eliminates National Education and Obesity Prevention Grant Program ($550 million / year).

Reduces access to SNAP by non-US citizens by specifying groups that have access.

 

COMMODITY SUPPORT PROGRAMS

Support Prices		Current	2025		Current	2026
		Statutory	Statutory		Loan	Loan
		Reference	Reference	Percent	Rate	Rate	Percent
Commodity	Unit	Price	Price	Increase	Price	Price	Increase
Wheat	Bushel	$5.50	$6.35	15%	$3.38	$3.72	10%
Barley	Bushel	$4.95	$5.45	10%	$2.50	$2.75	10%
Oats	Bushel	$2.40	$2.65	10%	$2.00	$2.20	10%
Peanuts	Pound	$0.268	$0.315	18%	$0.178	$0.195	10%
Corn	Bushel	$3.70	$4.10	11%	$2.20	$2.42	10%
Grain Sorghum	Bushel	$3.95	$4.40	11%	$2.20	$2.42	10%
Soybeans	Bushel	$8.40	$10.00	19%	$6.20	$6.82	10%
Dry Peas	Pound	$0.1100	$0.1310	19%	$0.0615	$0.0687	12%
Lentils	Pound	$0.1997	$0.2375	19%	$0.1300	$0.1430	10%
Canola	Pound	$0.2015	$0.2375	18%	$0.1009	$0.1110	10%
Large Chickpeas	Pound	$0.2154	$0.2565	19%	$0.1400	$0.1540	10%
Small Chickpeas	Pound	$0.1904	$0.2265	19%	$0.1000	$0.1100	10%
Sunflower Seed	Pound	$0.2015	$0.2375	18%	$0.1009	$0.1110	10%
Flaxseed	Bushel	$11.28	$13.30	18%	$5.6504	$6.22	10%
Mustard Seed	Pound	$0.2015	$0.2375	18%	$0.1009	$0.1110	10%
Rapeseed	Pound	$0.2015	$0.2375	18%	$0.1009	$0.1110	10%
Safflower	Pound	$0.2015	$0.2375	18%	$0.1009	$0.1110	10%
Crambe	Pound	$0.2015	$0.2375	18%	$0.1009	$0.1110	10%
Sesame Seed	Pound	$0.2015	$0.2375	18%	$0.1009	$0.1110	10%
Rice (long grain)	Pound	$0.1400	$0.1690	21%	$0.0700	$0.0770	10%
Rice (med/short grain)	Pound	$0.1400	$0.1690	21%	$0.0700	$0.0770	10%
Rice (temperate japonica)	Pound	$0.1730	not given		$0.0700	not given
Seed Cotton	Pound	$0.3670	$0.4200	14%	$0.2500
Upland Cotton	Pound				$0.45-$0.52	$0.55
Extra Long Staple Cotton	Pound				$0.95	$1.00	5%
Graded Wool	Pound				$1.15	$1.60	39%
Ungraded Wool	Pound				$0.40	$0.55	38%
Mohair	Pound				$4.20	$5.00	19%
Honey	Pound				$0.69	$1.50	117%

Price Loss Coverage (PLC) Reference Prices

Starting with 2031 crop year, prior year reference price increased by multiplying it by 1.005.

Increases effective reference price escalator formula from 85% to 88% of 5-year Olympic average market year price, limited to 115% of statutory reference price.

Updates the years used to determine the temperate japonica rice reference price.

 

Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC)

Increases ARC guarantee to 90% from 86% of benchmark revenue starting with 2025 crops.

ARC payment band increased to 12% from 10% starting with 2025 crop year

Allows producers to buy SCO (Supplemental Coverage Option) crop insurance policy and enroll in ARC (not currently allowed).

 

Commodity Program Election

For crop year 2025, landowners receive higher of ARC or PLC payment.  (Assessment: likely done since Congress altered 2025 program parameters, including reference prices; but could signal a potential change in next farm bill.)

For 2026-2031 crops, annual election of ARC or PLC.

 

Cotton

Textile mill assistance increases from 3 to 5 ¢ / pound of upland cotton on August 1, 2025

Increases payment rate for cotton storage cost for cotton under loan.

Repayment rate for upland cotton marketing assistance loan is lower of (a) loan rate plus interest or (b) lowest world market price over 30-day period starting the day loan repaid.  Ensures a refund is made if loan repayment rate exceeded the lowest world price.

Upland cotton world market price formula will use 3 instead of 5 lowest prices.

For Extra Long Staple Cotton, extends current Title 1 programs through 2031.  Loan repayment rate is lower of (a) loan rate plus interest or (b) world market price, adjusted for U.S. quality, location, and transportation costs.

 

Rice Marketing Loans

For long grain and medium grain rice, marketing loans repaid at lower of (a) loan rate plus interest or (b) world market price.

 

Commodity Program Payment Limits

Increases payment limit for Title I programs from $125,000 to $155,000 per payment entity starting with the 2025 crop year.

Payment limit is indexed to CPI inflation.

Adds partnerships, S-Corporations, and Limited Liability Corporations to joint ventures and general partnerships as a “qualified pass-thru entity” eligible to receive payments.

Expands access to standing disaster, noninsured disaster assistance, and conservation programs for producers with 75% or more of average gross income from farming, ranching, or forestry.

 

 

New Base Acres

Up to 30 million new base acres can be added by eligible farms effective the 2026 crop year.

For a FSA (Farm Service Agency) farm to be eligible,

1. A current covered program commodity must have been planted some year during 2019-2023.

 

For an eligible FSA farm,

2. For a FSA farm, planted acres must exceed total base acres for all covered program commodities, excluding unassigned generic cotton base, in effect on September 30, 2024.  Planted acres equal
   1. 2019-2023 average, all years included, of acres planted or prevented from being planted to program commodities on the FSA farm; plus
   2. lesser of
      1. 15% of total acres on the FSA farm   or

b.    2019-2023 average, all years included, of acres planted or prevented from being planted to eligible noncovered commodities.

Eligible noncovered commodity acres are acres planted or prevented planted on a farm to commodities other than covered commodities, trees, bushes, vines, grass, or pasture (including cropland that was idle or fallow), as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture.

3. New base acres = [(planted plus prevent planted acres calculated as above) plus (unassigned generic cotton base acres) minus (total base acres as of 9/30/2024)].
4. No new covered commodities are created.  New base acres are added to base acres of current covered commodities planted on the FSA farm over 2019-2023 using the following ratio:

[(2019-2023, all years included, average of acres planted and prevented planted to a given covered commodity) to (2019-2023, all years included, average of total acres planted or prevented planted to all covered commodities on the FSA farm)].

5. Other than under an established practice with FSA of double cropping covered commodities, an owner must elect what covered commodity planted or prevent planted on the same acre is used to calculate the 5-year average.

 

Limits

6. A FSA farm’s total base acres cannot exceed its total acres.
7. New base acres are capped at 30 million for the US.  If the cap is effective, an across-the-board, pro-rated reduction is applied to all eligible new base acres.

 

PLC Payment Yield for New Base Acres

8.    A FSA farm’s current PLC yield for a crop is used.  If the farm has no PLC yield, average PLC yield for the county in which the farm is situated is used.  If no county PLC yield exists, current FSA methods in this situation are used.

Assessment:  This is a major expansion of commodity program payments to current noncovered crops.  Hay, the third largest US field crop, benefits the most.  However, no new program commodities are created, so new base acres are added to base acres of existing program commodities even if their current base acres exceed their current planted acres. 

 

 

Sugar Program

Increases the 2025-2031 crop year loan rates for raw cane sugar and for refined beet sugar.

Increases storage rate paid for sugar forfeited to the government.

If marketing allotments are increased, prioritizes beet sugar processors with available sugar.

Requires upfront reallocation of a TRQ (Tariff Rate Quota) shortfall when quota year starts and subsequent reallocation of any remaining shortfall to quota holding countries by March 1.

Secretary of Agriculture can increase US supply of sugar before April 1 only if an emergency shortage is caused by war, flood, hurricane, other natural disaster, or similar event.

Requires a study of whether additional conditions are needed for refined sugar imports. 

 

Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC)

Updates production history to highest annual milk marketed during the 2021, 2022, or 2023 calendar year.

Raises maximum coverage from 5 million to 6 million pounds of milk.

Extends 25% discount on DMC premiums if coverage is locked in from 2026 through 2031.

 

Livestock and Tree Loss Assistance

Payment rate is 100% of market value of loses from predation by federally protected species.

Payment rate is 75% of market value of losses from weather or disease.

Secretary of Agriculture determines market value and may consider regional price premiums.

Adds a supplemental payment for loss of unborn livestock effective January 1, 2024.

For livestock forage disaster program, provides 1 monthly payment for a county having a U.S. Drought Monitor rating of D2 (severe drought) intensity in any area of the county for at least 4 consecutive weeks during the county’s normal grazing period. Two monthly payments can be received if D2 occurs any 7 of 8 consecutive weeks during the normal grazing period.

Adds assistance for losses of farm-raised fish due to piscivorous birds.

Sets standard mortality rate at 15% when determining honeybee colony losses.

For Tree Assistance Program, losses are triggered if normal mortality rates are exceeded.  Reimbursement rate increased from 50% to 65% of pruning, removal, and other costs.

 

CROP INSURANCE

Premium Subsidy

Sets highest coverage level at 85% for individual yield or revenue insurance, 90% for individual yield or revenue insurance aggregated across multiple commodities, and 95% for area yield or revenue insurance.

For SCO (Supplemental Coverage Option), increases its coverage level from 86% to 90% and its premium subsidy rate from 65% to 80%.

Percent Premium Subsidy for Basic and Optional Unit by Percent Coverage Level
Coverage Level	CAT	50	55	60	65	70	75	80	85
Current Subsidy	100	67	64	64	59	59	55	48	38
New Subsidy	100	67	69	69	64	64	60	51	41

 

Restrictions on Insurance Decisions

Permits SCO insurance to be bought for base acres enrolled in ARC (not currently allowed).

SCO and STAX (Stacked Income Protection Plan) cannot be bought for same cotton acre.

 

Administrative and Operating (A&O) Expenses

Starting with the 2026 reinsurance year, states that have loss ratios greater than 120% are eligible for additional A&O reimbursements equal to 6% of net book premium.  

Starting with the 2026 reinsurance year, specialty crop policies under the A&O cap will receive a minimum reimbursement of 17% of the premium.

Starting with the 2026 reinsurance year, A&O reimbursement cap is indexed to CPI inflation.

 

Beginning Farmers and Ranchers

Extends eligibility to 10 years from 5 years, and increases subsidy rate by 5 percentage points (pp) for 1^st and 2^nd years, by 3 pp for 3^rd year, and by 1 pp for 4^th year.

 

Other

Increases funds for monitoring program compliance and integrity from current $0.004 billion / FY to $0.006 billion / FY plus $0.01 billion for a related statute for FY2026 and after. 

Requires index-based Poultry Insurance Pilot for contract poultry growers to insure weather risk that raises utility costs.

 

CONSERVATION

Authorizes baseline funding for FY2026-FY2031 including these endpoint amounts (billion $)

     Program                                                                                FY2026          FY2031

EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program)                $2.655           $3.255

CSP (Conservation Stewardship Program)                           $1.300           $1.375

ACEP (Agricultural Conservation Easement Program)          $0.625           $0.700

RCPP (Regional Conservation Partnership Program)            $0.425           $0.450

Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention                         $0.150           $0.125

Authorizes funding for Grassroots Source Water Protection Program and Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program.

Rescinds unobligated funds for conservation programs appropriated by IRA (Inflation Reduction Act of 2022).

 

FORESTRY

Rescinds unobligated funds appropriated under IRA for many forest and tree programs.

 

TRADE

Authorizes funds for trade promotion programs totaling $0.285 billion / year starting FY2027.

 

RESEARCH

Authorizes funds for

Urban, Indoor, and Other Emerging Agricultural Production Research, Education, and Extension Initiative

Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research

Scholarships for Students at 1890 Institutions

Assistive Technology Program for Farmers with Disabilities

Specialty Crop Research Initiative

Research Facilities Act

 

ENERGY

Extends through FY2031 mandatory funds of $0.007 billion / year for the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels.

HORTICULTURE

Increases mandatory funds from $0.075 to $0.090 billion / year for Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention Program.

Increases mandatory funds from $0.085 to $0.100 billion / year for Specialty Crop Block Grant Program.

Authorizes $0.010 billion / year through FY2031 for Organic Production and Market Data Initiative.

Authorizes $0.005 billion to modernize and improve international trade technology systems and data collection on imports of organic agricultural products.

Authorizes $0.008 billion / year through FY2031 for National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program.

Authorizes $0.005 billion to conduct Multiple Crop and Pesticide Use Survey.

 

OTHER

Extends mandatory funding of $0.004 billion/ year through FY2031 for Farm to Food Bank Projects under The Emergency Food Assistance Program.

Authorizes $0.233 billion / year through FY2030 for Animal Disease Prevention and Management, split $0.010 billion for National Animal Health Laboratory Network, $0.070 billion for NADPRP (National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program), and $0.153 billion for National Animal Vaccine Bank.  Provides $75 million for FY 2031 and beyond, of which at least $45 million is for NADPRP.

Authorizes $0.003 million for Sheep Production and Marketing Grant Program. 

Authorizes per year through calendar year 2031 $0.016 billion for Pima Agriculture Cotton Trust Fund, $0.030 billion for Agriculture Wool Apparel Manufacturers Trust Fund, $0.00225 billion for Wool Research, Development, and Promotion Trust Fund, and $0.025 billion for Emergency Citrus Disease Research and Development Trust Fund.

 

A critical need for agriculture is having professionals who can help farm families and businesses plan for the future of their farms. That need is the source of a partnership between Ohio State's Agricultural & Resource Law Program and Iowa State's Center for Agricultural Law & Taxation. The two programs have once again partnered to offer the Third Annual Cultivating Connections Conference to grow the number and expertise of farm transition planning professionals. Iowa State will host the conference this year on August 4 and 5, 2025 in Ankeny, Iowa. The National Agricultural Law Center is a sponsor of the program.

The conference is a forum for learning and discussing the latest laws, strategies, tools, and insights necessary for effective farm transition planning. It brings together a diverse range of professionals -- attorneys, accountants, educators, and financial advisors -- who share a common goal: to preserve the legacy and sustainability of family farms for future generations. 

At the heart of the conference is a focus on building strong, collaborative relationships among farm transition professionals. Conference sessions aim to impart knowledge, foster dialogue, and build a supportive community. Attendees can connect with peers and share issues, insights, and expertise.

OSU's Robert Moore will speak for the conference about his work with Long-Term Care Considerations for the Farm Transition.  The agenda is full of additional speakers and sessions:

• Successfully Counseling the Farm Family on Succession - Robert Hanson, Professor Emeritus, U. of Nebraska
• Considering Farm Program Payments in the Transition Plan - Phil Newendyke, Pinion Farm Program Services
• 2025 Tax Update for the Farm Transition - Kristine Tidgren, Iowa State Center for Agricultural Law and Taxation
• Fresh Legal Tools for the Farm Transition - David Repp, Dickinson, Bradshaw, Fowler & Hagen, P.C.
• Fair Doesn't Mean Equal When It Comes to Farm Debt - Joe and Austin Peiffer, Ag & Business Legal Strategies
• Charitable Options for the Transition - Ame Mapes and Laura Ingram, Belin McCormick, Attorneys at Law
• Farm and Rural Landowner Case Studies - Travis Schroeder, Simmons Perrine Moyer Bergman, PLC and Mike Downey, UnCommon Farms

The conference will be in person at the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny, Iowa, but an online attendance option is also available.  Learn more about the conference and register online at https://www.regcytes.extension.iastate.edu/cultivating/.

Fresh fruits are coming into season all across Ohio, offering those who sell home-produced foods opportunities for new seasonal products.  But it’s important to know how Ohio law regulates fruit-based foods, which can include a wide range of products such as jams, pies, and cheesecakes.  Some of these food products are safe to make at home and sell to consumers with just minimal regulatory requirements, but producers might be surprised to learn that some fruit-based product ideas might require a different license or simply cannot be legally produced in a home-based kitchen.  Here’s a rundown on different laws that apply to fruit-based home-produced foods.

Baked goods using fresh fruit

Adding fresh fruit to baked goods such as muffins, cookies, breads, pies, and cakes is permissible under Ohio’s “Cottage Food Law.”  The cottage food law regulates lower-risk foods and allows home producers to make and sell foods on the cottage food list without a license, although the law does contain labeling requirements and marketing restrictions on cottage foods.  For baked goods, the Cottage Food Law allows home-based producers to make any “non-hazardous” baked good without the need for a license or inspection.  Non-hazardous baked goods includes cookies, brownies, cakes, breads, fruit pies, cobblers, granola bars, and unfilled baked donuts. 

But note that using fruit in certain ways can affect the food safety risk and change whether the Cottage Food Law applies to the food.  Here are three exceptions when using fruit with baked goods:

• Drying or dehydrating the fruit.  A producer can’t dry or dehydrate the fresh fruit before adding it to the baked good. Because drying and dehydration processes increase food safety risk, the Cottage Food Law doesn’t allow those practices.  A producer can, however, purchase and add commercially dried or dehydrated fruits to baked goods.
• Fruit garnishes and fillings.  A different law applies when using fresh fruit as a garnish or filling in or on a baked good, as the fruit now creates a food safety risk. Because the baked good must be prepared properly and held at certain temperatures to keep it from spoiling, a home-based producer must have a “Home Bakery” license and a home inspection to produce the higher-risk fruit-based product and also must obtain a “Retail Food Establishment” license to sell the goods at a farmer’s market.
• Cheesecakes, cream pies and custard pies.  These types of baked goods are not included on the Cottage Food list, so the law differs for them—whether with or without fruit.  As dairy products, cheesecakes, cream pies and custard pies require temperature controls to reduce food safety risk. A producer who wants to sell any of these products must have a Home Bakery license, along with a Retail Food Establishment license if selling at a farmer’s market.

Fruit-based jams and jellies

Most jams, jellies, chutneys and fruit butters also fall under Ohio’s Cottage Food Law, and producers can make the products at home and sell them without a food license.  But there are exceptions! Home-based producers need to know that Ohio law treats these fruit-based jam and jelly products differently:

• Freezer jam or jelly.   Freezer jam or jelly is made without cooking the fruit and to keep it from spoiling, it requires storage at lower temperatures in a freezer or refrigerator.  Freezer jam or jelly is not a cottage food, as it has higher food safety risk, and must be produced in a commercial kitchen with proper licensing.
• Sugar-free jam, jelly or fruit butter.  Using certain types of artificial sweeteners increases the food safety risk of these types of products.  For this reason, sugar-free jam and jelly products are not on the cottage food list.  As with freezer jams and jellies, production in a licensed commercial kitchen is necessary.

Salsas and relishes

A fresh peach salsa is a sure sign of summer, but home-based producers need to know that they can't make and sell salsa from a home kitchen.  Salsas, relishes, fermented foods, pickles, sauces—all of these types of foods carry higher food safety risks.  Proper facilities and processing practices are critical to maintain the food’s safety, so the foods must be made in a licensed commercial facility.

For more information

Do you want to know more about the Cottage Food Law and Home Bakery Law?  Visit the Food Law Library on OSU’s Farm Office website for videos and bulletins, along with information about our Food Business Central online course.  For questions about making foods in licensed food processing facilities and commercial kitchens, the two governmental agencies to contact with questions are the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety Division and your local Health Department.   Do you need help developing a food product idea? See the resources offered by the Northeast Ohio Ag Innovation Center.

Federal lawmakers have once again sparked debate over increasing the federal minimum wage, which has remained at $7.25 per hour since 2009. While many farmworkers are exempt from the federal minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), a potential increase could still create significant ripple effects throughout the agricultural sector.

Earlier this month, Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) introduced the Higher Wages for American Workers Act, a bipartisan proposal that would raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour and index future increases to inflation.

Although agricultural employers in Ohio are generally exempt from federal minimum wage requirements, the reemergence of federal wage legislation presents a timely opportunity to revisit those exemptions and clarify what minimum wage obligations may apply to farm employers under both federal and state law.

Federal Agricultural Exemptions
Under the FLSA, agricultural employers are not required to pay the federal minimum wage to certain employees if one or more of the following conditions apply:

1. Small Farm Exemption: The employer did not use more than 500 man-days of agricultural labor in any calendar quarter of the previous year.
2. Family Member Exemption: The employee is the parent, spouse, child, or another immediate family member of the employer.
3. Hand-Harvest Laborer Exemption: The employee:
   • is employed as a hand-harvest laborer,
   • is paid on a piece-rate basis,
   • commutes daily from their permanent residence, and
   • was employed in agriculture for fewer than 13 weeks during the previous calendar year.
4. Youth Hand-Harvest Exemption: The employee is:
   • 16 years old or younger,
   • employed as a hand-harvest laborer,
   • paid on a piece-rate basis,
   • working on the same farm as their parent or legal guardian, and
   • receiving the same piece-rate wage as employees over age 16.
5. Range Production Exemption: The employee is engaged in the range production of livestock.

Understanding the 500 Man-Days Threshold
The “man-day” exemption is intended to relieve small or family-operated farms from federal minimum wage requirements. A “man-day” is any day in which an employee performs at least one hour of agricultural labor. The total number of hours worked is irrelevant, working just one hour still constitutes a full man-day.

To determine whether an employer meets the exemption, all workers across all operations owned or managed by the same farmer must be included in the calculation. For example, if one employee works a single hour on Monday and two others work an hour each on Tuesday, the farm accumulates three man-days across those two days. The FLSA sets the threshold at 500 man-days per calendar quarter, which is roughly equal to employing seven employees for five days a week over a 13-week quarter. Importantly, all categories of labor—full-time, part-time, seasonal, and temporary—count toward the total.

Family Member Exemption Clarified
Agricultural employers are not required to pay the federal minimum wage to certain immediate family members engaged in agricultural labor. The Department of Labor defines "immediate family" for this purpose to include parents, spouses, children, stepchildren, stepparents, foster children, and foster parents.

However, more distant relatives, such as siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews, and in-laws—do not qualify for the exemption, even if they live in the same household. These individuals must be treated as regular employees and may be subject to minimum wage and hour requirements.

State Minimum Wage Considerations
In addition to federal law, employers must comply with state wage laws. When state and federal minimum wage laws conflict, employers must follow the law that is more protective of the employee, typically, the law with the higher minimum wage.

In Ohio, the state minimum wage is higher than the federal rate, and most employers are required to pay the state minimum. However, Ohio law includes exemptions that mirror federal law and allows certain agricultural employers to pay less than the state minimum wage if they qualify under those exemptions.

This alignment between state and federal law means that many Ohio farm employers remain exempt from both wage requirements—especially small farms and family-run operations. But this is not the case in all states. For example, California and Washington require that all agricultural workers be paid the state minimum wage, regardless of whether they qualify for a federal exemption.

Who is Considered an Agricultural Employee?
Both federal and Ohio law define “agriculture” broadly to include a wide range of farming activities. The legal definition encompasses the cultivation and tillage of soil, dairying, growing and harvesting of agricultural or horticultural commodities, and the raising of livestock, bees, fur-bearing animals, or poultry. It also includes related tasks performed by a farmer or on a farm in connection with these activities, such as preparing goods for market or transporting them to storage or distribution.

This definition divides agricultural work into two main categories:

• Primary agriculture, which includes traditional farming activities like planting, growing, and harvesting crops or raising livestock.
• Secondary agriculture, which covers work that supports or is incidental to primary agriculture—for example, servicing equipment used on the farm or applying pesticides via aircraft.

Employees engaged in either primary or secondary agricultural activities are generally classified as agricultural employees and may fall within the FLSA exemptions described above.

Agritourism and Value-Added Activities: A Different Category
Classification becomes more complicated when farm operations expand beyond traditional agriculture by engaging in agritourism or producing value-added products.

Employees who work in agritourism, such as operating a corn maze, staffing a farm store, managing event rentals, or leading educational tours, are typically not considered agricultural employees under federal or Ohio law. Because their work is commercial or recreational rather than agricultural in nature, they do not qualify for agricultural labor exemptions and are therefore entitled to full wage and hour protections, including minimum wage and overtime.

Similarly, employees involved in processing agricultural products may also fall outside the scope of the agricultural exemption, depending on the nature and extent of the processing. These workers may be treated as employees in a manufacturing or commercial enterprise and must be compensated accordingly.

Conclusion. 
While federal and Ohio laws provide specific exemptions from minimum wage requirements for agricultural employers, the application of these exemptions depends on several nuanced factors—including the nature of the work performed, the size and structure of the farming operation, and the relationship between the employer and employee. As farms continue to diversify through agritourism and value-added ventures, employers must be mindful that not all workers will qualify for agricultural exemptions. Understanding the distinction between agricultural and non-agricultural labor is essential to ensuring compliance with both federal and state wage laws and avoiding potential liability. As legislative efforts to raise the federal minimum wage continue, now is an opportune time for agricultural employers to review their labor practices and clarify their wage obligations under the law.