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How a budget year could impact Ohio agriculture

Photo by Brownfield’s Erin Anderson.

An Ohio state representative says he’s concerned about how the governor’s budget proposal will impact the state’s ag industry.

District 65 Representative David Thomas tells Brownfield, “We have to use some of our state sales tax and income tax dollars to help property owners and give that relief. We used to do that way back when, but we had to stop doing that during the Great Recession. I think we have to move back to that too, and just look at what the are priorities in terms of our actual money and dollars and making sure that it gets back to the people who need it most.”

He says there are provisions for energy and conservation in Governor DeWine’s recently released budget proposal.

“There’s a good amount of focus on soil quality and water quality,” he says. “I know that there’s been some ideas around about help for certain types of agriculture products or with fuel, for example. There’s also a big discussion that could go in the budget about energy costs, so that is definitely being kind of batted around.”

Thomas was recently elected to the Ohio House of Representatives and is a member of the House Finance Committee. He says he remains committed to ensuring fair funding for farmers.

AUDIO: David Thomas