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State's list of historic century-old family farms grows by 26 percent
KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: January 15, 2020
The Ohio Department of Agriculture's Historic Family Farms Program registered 975 historic farms between 2010 and 2019 - a 26 percent increase.
By comparison, 749 farms were registered during the program's first 16 years, ag officials said.
The top registering counties in the last decade were: Putnam County with 122 farms, Mercer County with 65 farms and Hancock County with 33 farms.
Ohio's Historic Family Farms program was developed in 1993 to honor the Buckeye State's founding farm families for their contributions to agriculture in Ohio. Farms under same-family ownership for 100 years or more qualify to be designated as a historic family farm.
"In 26 years, we've seen this program grow from eight recipients in its inaugural year to nearly 1,800 registered farms today," said program Administrator Erin Dillon. "The level of enthusiasm from farm families receiving their historic designations is indisputable.
"The successes of the Historic Family Farms Program can be solely attributed to families who proudly continue their farming heritage - it's our duty and honor to acknowledge that perseverance."
Last year alone, the ag department recognized 106 new historic farms owned by the same family for at least 100, 150 or 200 consecutive years.
Each family received a certificate signed by Gov. Mike DeWine and state ag Director Dorothy Pelanda to keep with their historic documents and to pass down to future generations.
"I am the fourth generation to grow up at my family's homestead in Danbury Township near Lakeside on the Marblehead Peninsula where my father and his father lived and farmed the land," said Mary Ahrens Kuehn, a Sesquicentennial Historic Family Farm owner. "I grew up with stories of farm life, all working together in the fields and dairy barn. We are very grateful to have this opportunity as landowners and treasure our Historic Family Farm sign."
There are now more than 1,700 farms registered across the state in the Ohio Historic Family Farms program.
A complete list of Ohio's bicentennial, sesquicentennial and century farms is available on the ag department's website: https://agri.ohio.gov.
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