Lebanon looks to balance growth with farming heritage
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Warren County is booming, but the farms that helped shape it for generations face an uncertain future.
Why it matters: Population growth, rising costs and lucrative offers from developers are making it harder for farming families to hold on to their land.
- "Farming here is shrinking, and fast," Lebanon Mayor Mark Messer tells Axios.
The big picture: The county had 872 farms covering more than 101,000 acres as of 2022, according to the latest USDA agricultural census.
- Messer says aging farmers, fewer interested heirs, and big offers from developers are making it harder to keep farms in the family.
Threat level: Rising costs and volatile markets are squeezing farmers, says Ryan Matthews, spokesperson for the Ohio Farm Bureau.
- Since 2018, crop-production costs have jumped more than 38%, while prices farmers receive have risen only about 24%, according to Farm Bureau figures.
- The data show Ohio lost 200,000 acres of farmland and 1,800 farms between 2023 and 2024.
- "Farmers are price takers, not price makers," Matthews says. "So while prices might be higher in the grocery store, that's not what farmers are seeing."
Yes, but: Preserving farmland isn't as simple as telling farmers not to sell.
- Matthews says the Farm Bureau supports landowners' property rights while pushing for smarter development and a new federal farm bill, stronger financial safety nets, and year-round E15 gasoline sales.
- "Whatever a farmer or landowner wants to do with their farm … that's their right. That's their choice," Matthews says.
Zoom in: Lebanon is trying to balance growth with preserving its farming heritage.
- City Council recently removed more than 1,000 acres from its future land-use map, signaling it doesn't plan to keep expanding beyond agreed-upon boundaries.
- Messer says the city lets landowners lead on annexation rather than pursuing farmland for development.
- "Our council understands what farmland means to this community," Messer says. "It matters to our quality of life and to our local economy. And it matters to our spirit."
What's next: Messer wants tax changes that make it easier to transfer farmland to family members or sell to other farmers.
- He also believes youth programs like 4-H and the National FFA Organization, along with the revamped Warren County Fair, could help get younger generations interested in agriculture.
- "No one can say with a straight face that farming in Lebanon is growing," Messer says. "But there's a real and growing desire to hold on to our heritage as much as we can."