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On April 9, 2025, the Ohio House of Representatives passed its version of the state’s biennial budget, also known as House Bill 96, which introduces substantial revisions to Ohio’s pesticide application laws. These updates aim to bring the state into closer alignment with current federal regulations and carry significant implications—particularly for family farms that involve youth workers.
Authored by: Carl Zulauf, Seungki Lee, and David Marrison, Ohio State University, May 2025
Not long ago, an official looking letter arrived addressed to my deceased father. Inside was a message from “Attorney Patterson” stating that a man named Nicholas Moore had died in Canada. No heirs. No next of kin. But, conveniently, a $10 million life insurance policy just waiting to be claimed.
Final plans are underway for the first annual "Agri-Law Summit," co-hosted by our OSU Agricultural & Resource Law Program and the Ohio State Bar Association Agricultural Law Committee. The day-long continuing legal education program will be Thursday, August 14, 2025, at the Retreat 21 Venue and Taphouse near Marysville, Ohio.
Unidentified drones flying over property have raised many concerns recently, but new laws in Ohio may ease those concerns. The new laws aim to enhance safety, protect privacy, and align state laws with federal regulations for “unmanned aerial vehicles” (UAVs), or “drones.” Passed late last year as H.B. 77 and effective on April 9, 2025, the new laws amend Ohio’s aircraft safety laws to prohibit operating UAVs in certain ways and also address local government use and regulations for UAVs.
The federal estate tax exemption is set to drop dramatically in 2026—from $13.99 million in 2025 to an estimated $7–$7.5 million per person. For some farm families, this shift could result in significant estate tax exposure. While most estates won’t exceed the new limit, some farmers, especially those with high-value farmland or appreciating assets, will find themselves suddenly at risk of federal estate taxes.
We're preparing for another edition of our monthly webinar, Farm Office Live, on Friday, April 25 at 10 a.m. Our featured guest this month is Dr. Margaret Jodlowski, Asst. Professor in the Dept. of Agricultural Environmental and Development Economics, who will discuss farm labor issues with us. Our remaining agenda features the Farm Office team addressing these topics:
On April 9, 2025, Ohio enacted House Bill 106, known as the Pay Stub Protection Act.
I recently received this question from a farm family. It’s one of the most common — and important — questions farm families ask when thinking about the future. Long-term care (LTC) is expensive, unpredictable, and often not covered by programs like Medicare. For farmers who’ve spent a lifetime building an operation and want to pass it on, the rising costs of LTC present a real financial risk to the land, the farm business, and the legacy. The following is a brief discussion on LTC costs and strategies.
Proposals that would formally designate several “ag-related days” in Ohio, allow Ohio Farm Bureau to provide healthcare benefit coverage to its members, regulate imitation meat and egg products, and expand homemade food production opportunities are receiving attention in the Ohio legislature. Here’s a summary of the bills and where they stand in the legislative process.
H.B. 65 – Agriculture Appreciation Act
