hemp processing

Over the past month, we’ve shared several blog posts examining aspects of the State Operating Budget, HB 96 and how it makes changes to agricultural law in Ohio. Below, we note some more assorted provisions in the bill related to agriculture.  

Pork Marketing

HB 96 establishes a state “pork marketing program to promote the sale of pork and pork products,” but only if the National Pork Checkoff created under federal law ceases to operate.  Checkoff programs for agricultural commodities gather fees on products in order to better promote the products and to conduct research. If the National Pork Checkoff ends, the new law would require the Ohio Pork Council to accept nominees and hold elections for a state pork marketing program operating committee. The committee would consist of 12 members, including the Director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the executive vice president of the Ohio Pork Council, four pork producers appointed by the director, and six members from each of the six districts established throughout the state.  The operating committee would be able to levy assessments on the value of animals, pork, or pork products sold or imported in the state. This provision of HB 96, which again, is only triggered if the National Pork Checkoff ceases to operate, was likely included in the State Operating Budget due to reports in February of this year that the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was reviewing and possibly cutting federal agricultural checkoff programs.

Animal and Consumer Protection Fund

The Operating Budget establishes the Animal and Consumer Protection Fund, which will be used to fund the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board, the regulation of captive deer producers, the regulation of wild animals and snakes, and the regulation of garbage-fed swine and poultry.  The new language would channel various fees collected from permits for the possession of dangerous wild animals to go to the Animal and Consumer Protection Fund, when they previously went to the “dangerous and restricted animal fund.”

HB 96 also gives ODA the power to assess civil penalties against those who violate livestock dealer laws. The civil penalties would replace the finding of  first-degree misdemeanor for violators (however, the fifth-degree felony penalty for violating certain provisions of the livestock dealer law remains). Money collected from these civil penalties would also go to the Animal and Consumer Protection Fund. 

Food Processing Establishments

Under Ohio law, a food processing establishment is defined as a premises or part of a premises where food is processed, packaged, manufactured, or otherwise held or handled for distribution to another location or for sale at wholesale.” New language included in HB 96 would exempt small egg producers (those who annually maintain 500 or fewer birds) from food processing establishment requirements.                           

Hemp

HB 96 gives ODA permission to transfer the authority to regulate hemp cultivation in Ohio to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and requires ODA to establish a program to monitor and regulate hemp processing. On July 25, 2025, ODA started the process of transferring the regulation of hemp cultivation in the state to the USDA. As of January 1, 2026, hemp growers must be licensed through USDA, and ODA cultivation licenses will be voided.  More information about the transition is available here.

Although the steps are in motion to transfer regulation of cultivation of hemp to USDA, HB 96 still allows ODA and universities with agricultural programs to cultivate and process hemp without a license for research purposes.

Finally, the budget bill allows ODA to issue hemp processing licenses if either of the following apply:

• • The individual holds the applicable license in another state
  • The individual has satisfactory work experience, a government certification, or private certification as a hemp processor in a state that does not issue the applicable license. 

H2Ohio

It has been widely reported that the state budget made cuts to the H2Ohio Program. In Governor DeWine’s proposed budget released in January, he called for $270 million to fund the program, but in the final version of the budget as passed by the General Assembly, only around $165 million was allocated to the program for 2026 and 2027. ODA’s H2Ohio funds will be $107.2 million for 2026-2027, compared to $171.4 million received in 2024—2025. Bigger cuts were made to ODNR , which will have $42.4 million for H2Ohio (down from $69.4 million in 2024—2025), and Ohio EPA, which will receive $15 million for H2Ohio (down from $ 51.4 million in 2024—2025).

In the version of HB 96 delivered to Governor DeWine, the General Assembly also added a provision that money in the H2Ohio fund could not be used for the purchase of land or for the purchase of conservation easements to further the goals of the H2Ohio program. This provision, however, was vetoed by Governor DeWine.

We hope you’ve found our series on agriculture in the state budget informative thus far! You can find HB 96 in its entirety here.  There has been talk of legislation to “fix” certain parts of the budget bill as passed. Please stay tuned to the Ohio Ag Law Blog, where we will be sure to update you on any changes the General Assembly makes this fall!