Hicks-Hudson Testifies on Urban Agriculture Bill

Today, state Senator Paula Hicks-Hudson (D-Toledo) provided sponsor testimony for Senate Bill 111, her legislation to establish the Urban Farmer Youth Initiative Pilot Program and promote urban agriculture in Ohio.

“This bill will put Ohio at the forefront of this country’s urban agriculture movement,” said Hicks-Hudson. “Alleviating barriers to urban farming will support current and future urban producers in our state, and allow our communities to thrive.”

Urban agriculture fills in gaps that traditional agriculture cannot by providing social, economic, environmental and health benefits to communities. Urban gardens and greenhouses help feed neighborhoods and serve communities by extending access to fresh food while making use of underutilized buildings or plots of land in urban areas. S.B. 111 is part of a national effort to restore, educate, and improve the lives of the next generation of farmers.

The bill makes an appropriation of $500,000 to be distributed over a two-year period, which will be used by the Central State and Ohio State Extension Offices to provide farming and agriculture programming and support to urban youth. The pilot program will help make farming accessible to youth in urban areas who traditionally may not have exposure to farming or 4-H programs.

Additionally, S.B. 111 exempts temporary greenhouses from restrictive zoning and building codes, facilitating their use for urban farmers. It also clarifies in the Ohio Revised Code that land does not need to be contiguous to qualify for the Current Agricultural Use Value (CAUV) program.

S.B. 111 now awaits further hearings in the Ohio Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.