Farm Bureau leader advocates for diverse group
Adam Sharp has spent much of his life on his family’s nearly 80-year-old farm in Fairfield County. But the years he spent in Washington, D.C., working on agricultural issues for the Environmental Protection Agency and the American Farm Bureau added policymaking expertise to his lifelong farming experience.
Sharp puts both to work for the Ohio Farm Bureau and its members as he leads the education and advocacy organization as executive vice president. He sees his job — and the organization’s mission — as “looking out for the farmers while they’re in the field.”
That means lobbying Ohio lawmakers on issues affecting Ohio’s $100 billion agricultural sector, including property taxes on farmers, energy prices, water quality regulations and the opiate epidemic in rural Ohio. It also means asking, “How can we help build bridges with our farmers and our communities, with consumers and our neighbors?” Sharp said.
“In the work that we do, government has an immense ability to help and to hurt people,” he added. “That’s why we as an organization have to be engaged.”
With the 100th anniversary of the Farm Bureau approaching in 2019, Sharp spoke with Columbus CEO about the organization and the Ohio farmers it serves.
Q: How common is it today for a family farm like yours to pass down three or four generations and still be thriving?
A: Pretty common. If you ask most farmers, their first wish is for their kids to carry on the family farm. If they can continue to build that business, the better — that’s what I hear from our members. But it’s hard to do. Right now, you’re looking at a real shift in farm structure. The average age of a farmer now is 60 years old. What you’re seeing is a lot of transfer, a lot of new, younger farmers coming in. We have about 75,000 farms in Ohio. That number’s actually stayed pretty steady now for a number of years. Farms of all sizes: farms that have been around in families for many, many generations and farms that are starting off new.
Q: What are the important issues facing Ohio’s farmers today?
A: Having a friendly business climate is always important. Making sure our tax policy, our regulatory structure and the ownership of the business are in good order. Another (issue) would be social expectations: What’s expected of farmers as neighbors and as food producers? At our farm, we want to make sure we’re good neighbors and we’re doing good work for the environment and the community. We have livestock, too, and we want to make sure we’re taking good care of our animals. We have animal-care standards here in Ohio, (and we’re) making sure we’re doing the best we can do. Environmental issues are always important. Water quality is important here in Ohio, as it should be. I can’t tell you how many hours we’ve spent talking with our members about (planting) cover crops to manage our fields so that your soil and fertilizer stays in place. You’re keeping those nutrients on the field and they’re not moving into the water. That takes time and that takes investment.
Q: What does the Farm Bureau look like heading into its second century?
A: The diversity of the organization is huge, and I would point to our board as an example. We’ve got
Christmas tree growers, we’ve got fruit and vegetable producers ... beekeepers, horse breeders. We’ve got everything. That is very indicative of Ohio agriculture right now. It’s the state’s largest industry, and it’s incredibly diverse. Our organization reflects that. Our farmers serve all kinds of different markets. Over the next 100 years, we want to bring together those groups. Agricultural unity, because we have such a diverse membership in the state, is going to be very important going forward. We need to be engaged with consumers — talking about how we farm and operate our farms in Ohio, and how we stay economically viable for farmers but also affordable for consumers. Consumers across the spectrum, we want to make sure they have food choice.