According to Ben Torrance, state statistician for the Ohio Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the real estate values in Ohio were up 9.0 percent from 2023.

Ohio’s cropland value was $9,270, up 9.7 percent from the previous year. Ohio’s pasture value was $4,000 per acre, up 5.0 percent from 2023. Ohio’s cropland cash rent was $185 per acre in 2024, up $7.00 from the previous year.

For more details on this report, visit https://www.nass.usda.gov. From there go to Ohio News Releases on Aug. 5, 2024 where you will find the “Farm Real Estate Values and Cash Rents.”

Another report closer to home report called “Western Ohio Cropland Values and Rents for 2023-2024” by OSU Extension’s Barry Ward, leader of production business management, can be found at https://farmoffice.osu.edu/farm-management-tools/farm-management-publications/cash-rents. Once on the website click on “Farm Management” which is listed at the top of the page. According to Ward, results from the Western Ohio Cropland Values and Cash Rents Survey (includes Greene County) show cropland values in western Ohio are expected to increase in 2024 by 3.3 to 5.8 percent depending on the region and land class. Cash rents are expected to increase from 3.2 to 3.8 percent in 2024 depending on the region and land class.

Decreasing profit margins have competed with relatively strong farm equity positions and increasing property taxes to direct values and rents so far in 2024. Cropland values and cash rents are expected to increase although they are projected to be smaller increases than the past two years.

Want to farm?

Many people want to farm but there are several hurdles to jump if you expect to farm and file income taxes as a farmer as opposed to a “hobby farmer.” In my experience as extension agriculture educator, I had many conversations with people wanting to farm for various reasons including using income as a requirement for applying for CAUV (Current Agricultural Use Value) for helping to minimize their property taxes for farming. The CAUV program has a different set of requirements and they can be found on the Greene County Auditor’s website at https://www.greenecountyohio.gov/387/CAUV-Program.

Robert Moore is an OSU Extension attorney and has put together a fact sheet titled “Understanding the IRS’s Perspective on Hobby Farms.”

One major item he covers is the requirement that the farm meets the three-out-of-five rule. In other words, has the farm made a profit in at least three of the last five tax years. The exception is horse breeding training, showing, or racing. For this type of farming, the period extends to two out of the last seven years. Otherwise, the farm is considered to be a hobby farm by the IRS. Also, is the farm operated like a business? Are accurate records of expenses and income kept? For more details on hobby farming, visit https://farmoffice.osu.edu/. Once on this webpage click on “Blogs” and scroll down to Moore’s fact sheet written on July 26, 2024.

How are your tomatoes?

Every year is different regarding growing tomatoes which is usually the most common vegetable raised in Ohio. From my conversations this year, I have received many comments that some of you who grow tomatoes have not had the best of years. Much of the blame so far has been placed on the hot dry weather we experienced in June and July. The weather did not seem to be good for flowering of the plants and subsequent tomato development.

What has been your experience?

Cicada killer wasps from the dark side

This insect’s life history would qualify for a Halloween special in October. A few weeks ago, I had a conversation with a neighbor who had problems with several cicada killer wasps, which had invaded a part of his back yard which has a lot of sandy soil. The cicada killer wasp is a solitary wasp and is 1 1/8 to 1 5/8 inches long with black and yellow stripes. The head and thorax are red. Only the female cicada killer wasp can sting people but rarely do so. They will sting a cicada and paralyze them prior to burying them sometimes six inches deep in an area with sandy soil where they lay an egg on the insect.

The males will dive bomb the area where the females are burying eggs but do not sting. The eggs hatch in two to three days and feed on the cicada for 4-14 days. The young wasp will hibernate until next summer when they leave the burrow, mate and another lifecycle begins. For more details on this curious insect, visit https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/ENT-63. The OSU Extension fact sheet is called Cicada Killer Wasp.

They are considered to be a beneficial insect.

Jerry Mahan is a retired OSU Extension educator for agriculture and natural resources for Greene County. He can be reached at [email protected].