Category
May 17, 2025
Hiking through small-town Ohio offers glimpses into lives and livelihoods that you would never see driving south on I-71. These back roads follow long stretches of corn, soy, and wheat fields, with periodic breaks for local vineyards and farmers markets.
Outside of our state parks and nature preserves, monocultures abound, despite mounting evidence pointing to the profitability and sustainability of locally sourced food and more diverse agricultural strategies.
I happened upon Brady Vineyard near Rochester, Ohio during a recent hike and stopped in to sample a bit of their Blackberry Wine and to chat with the owners about sustainable farming in our state. Neat rows of marquette and concord grape vines fanned out from patio tables outside the winery as Paul Brady explained the facts of farming in Ohio.
Small family farmers rarely subsist on the income made through growing commodity crops on their acreage. Nearly everyone has a day job and tending fields is relegated to evenings and weekends. Due to the artificially low pricing of crops like corn, wheat, and soy, farming thousands of acres is often required to turn a profit, pushing smaller farmers out of the business.
When asked what needs to change to make farming a viable profession that could support a family, Brady offered his perspective. He pointed out that the price of corn when he first started farming a few decades ago was not far from the price of corn today. In 1960 a bushel of corn cost $1.12. In 2020, corn sold for just a little over $3.50 per bushel, despite the fact that a dollar in 1960 was worth 20 times what it is worth today.
These low prices prevent small farmers from being able to profit from the sale of corn, soy, or other grains that they grow on their land.
What keeps the price of feed corn so low? Definitely not the free market value. Brady points out that corn prices are kept down artificially. Farmers are then subsidized by the government in an effort to help them make ends meet.
There is a reason for this process. 20% of grains grown in the US are sold internationally. Keeping the price of corn and other grains down allows large agribusinesses to export grains at prices lower than other countries, undercutting their competitors and gaining a huge market advantage overseas. The practice of subsidizing farmers who are forced to sell their grains at artificially low prices has been addressed by the World Trade Organization. The WTO has determined that providing large government subsidies to farmers is an unfair practice that distorts the market, providing an unreasonable advantage to the US and eliminating smaller countries in the global market. It favors giant agricultural businesses and makes farming unprofitable for small farmers.
What is Ohio doing to fix this? Very little.
In 2015, nearly 10 million farmed acres in Ohio produced corn, soy, or hay for animal feed. Food that people could eat was grown on only 26,940 acres. This means that less than one percent of our farmland is being used to grow healthy fresh fruits or vegetables for human consumption, the food that we all need.
Different farming techniques are emerging. “No till” farming has become common due to the understanding that plowing fields releases sequestered carbon back into the atmosphere, contributing to climate change. But in order to maintain a profit, farmers who adopt Ohio’s “no till” practices often need to spray enough herbicide to destroy unwanted plants in their fields, leading to soil and water contamination as well as adversely affecting the health of wildlife and people living in the area.
Permaculture and regenerative agriculture have gained a foothold with some small produce farmers who see the potential profitability in these techniques. The practice is not widely understood, however, so it is often not effectively managed.
We all know how important locally sourced foods and sustainable agricultural practices are in combating climate change, so how did we end up with this system that continually throws hurdles in front of northeast Ohio farmers who want to provide crops grown on a smaller scale? Are produce farmers limited by the same pricing restrictions and traditional practices as those growing grains for animal feed?
I talked to the owners of Red Wagon Farm in Lorain County to learn more about small farms that are growing fruits and vegetables. Red Wagon Farm has access to 200 acres, some forested and some plowed for growing crops. This family owned business took root 50 years ago and is now employing a third generation of planters, bakers, store keepers and soon-to-be-brewers. They till all of their fields but use plastic covers to warm the ground for early seed germination and to keep out weeds, limiting the need for pesticides.
A number of important factors seem to have contributed to the success of this family enterprise.
First, their produce is not undervalued. They are able to set prices that allow their business to remain profitable. Customers appreciate fresh, locally grown food and are willing to pay for it.
They offer activities and events like pumpkin festivals and corn roasts, all with high profit margins.
They sell more than their own produce: the storefront carries local jellies, sauces, bakery, and will be opening a brewery in the near future.
Ohio’s burgeoning interest in CSAs and farmers markets has also helped push this amazing family business into greater profitability.
Does every planter need 200 acres to make a living growing food? Is it possible to get started in this business with 20 acres? 5 acres? I look forward to talking with Ohio agriculturalists who have broken ground in this often overlooked field to determine what we all can do to support the farmers that feed us.
