Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast

How do you know if your tax dollars are being well spent? Or if some unscrupulous elected official might have his hand in the cookie jar? Keeping tabs on those kinds of things, and many others, is the job of the Ohio Auditor of State. Just a few months ago, Keith Faber became our state’s 33rd auditor. Today we learn more about the office, and visit about some important issues in state government i...

For 73 years, Ohio Farm Bureau volunteer leaders have traveled to the nation’s capital to speak out on behalf of their fellow farmers. The 2019 version of the county president’s trip to Washington D.C. took more than 100 farmers, Farm Bureau staff and members of the media into the capital. They met with both senators, and most members of Ohio’s congressional delegation. Today we let you in on what...

On the latest Town Hall Ohio, meet some of the members of Ohio Farm Bureau’s Young Ag Professionals. Ty Higgins will introduce you to the best and brightest that Ohio agriculture has to offer.

If you ever wanted to see grassroots political action in action, you’d have been impressed by this past week’s Ohio Farm Bureau Ag Day at the Capital. Farmers from all corners of the state battled level two snow emergencies to come to Columbus to meet and inform their state lawmakers and to hear from the new governor of the state of Ohio. Governor Mike DeWine joins us as we look back at Ag Day at...

There is hardly a day that goes by that nearly every one of us is not touched, in some way, by The Ohio State University. Our jobs. Our families. Our food, and our communities. To some extent, Ohio State is an integral part of Ohio’s economy, environment and society. Since the middle of 2014, the caretaker of Ohio State’s mission has been Dr. Michael Drake. He’s back for his fourth visit with all...

Sadly, we’re in a time where far too many folks seem to be on their worst behavior when discussing important topics. Ranting and yelling and their online equivalents, seems to have become the ways to share an opinion. In Ohio Farm Bureau, we believe there’s a better way to solve problems. Thoughtful, courteous discussion. Farm bureau’s annual Discussion Meet competition is intended to develop youn...

At the Mid-American Restaurant Expo, held in Columbus two weeks ago, you would expect to see vendors selling pizza ovens, deep fryers and ice cream machines. For the first time this year, the exhibit space made room for farmers from Ohio looking for more places to market their home grown goods. Find out more about this developing relationship between food producers and the restaurant industry on t...

For the first time in eight years, Ohio has a new governor. We have a new republican house speaker, who largely can thank democrats for landing the job. We’ll soon begin the debate over Ohio’s next two year budget and the usual wrangling over dozens of policy issues. Today we look ahead to the year ahead in state government with three folks who pay attention to those things for a living. Our state...

What’s in store for 2019 as far as economic issues? Your family budget, the economies of Ohio, nation and the world? Conditions facing governments and industries? Today we engage in our annual early year visit with Dr. David Berson, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist for Nationwide. We’ll talk about jobs, interest rates, securities, commodities and a host of other financial and policy topic...

Today we continue the tradition of Town Hall Ohio's Greatest Hits. As we close out the year for 2018, we're going to go back an visit some of the highlights of this year's broadcasts: the election, farm and food issues, short and long term economic concerns and opportunities especially in rural areas. You're going to hear some pretty smart and interesting people who were in our studio over this pa...

It’s estimated that somewhere around the year 336, Christmas became an official holiday. Then, in 1621 it was the very first Thanksgiving. So one could argue between those two events, the official holiday season was essentially born. It’s interesting to consider how that celebration has evolved over the years. Certainly it can’t resemble now much of what it looked like back then. But how do we kee...

At the close of World War 1, Ohio farmers organized to preserve their livelihoods and lifestyles. In 1919, they gave birth to the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation. And since its origin, Farm Bureau has gone on to significantly shape the culture and economy of the Buckeye state. Today, we celebrate the centennial of the state’s largest and most influential farm and food organization. We’ll hear from and...

We live in a complicated world. We do what we can for ourselves, but so much of what affects our families, jobs and communities is seemingly outside of our control, or more to the point, under the control of politicians and bureaucrats. Today’s guest is uniquely qualified to talk about governance, the economy, national security and host of other big picture issues that we all should be better info...

Hard numbers are hard to find, but one source indicates more than 80 million Americans participate in sports. Many of them are our kids and grandkids starting with little league and continuing through high school. With so many youngsters involved in dozens of different sports, it seems worth spending a little time thinking about how their participation is, or should be, impacting their minds and b...

In a state known for big cities and big stretches of flat, productive farmland, a part of our state we don’t often give a lot of attention to is Appalachian Ohio. That eastern and southern area of Ohio accounts for 40% of the state’s land mass, but only 17% of our population. It’s also an area that’s tough to economically thrive in. Today, we are joined by a couple of folks who want to help fix th...

In 1870, the Ohio General Assembly chartered the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The doors opened three years later, and five years after that, the college changed its name to The Ohio State University. While OSU now goes far beyond strictly an ag and mechanical focus, Ohio State remains a land grant institution, with community betterment a key purpose. OSU’s engineering and agricultural...

For the past 10 years or so, the new player on the scene is the podcast. Online, on demand and as specialized as you could want. Alex Hastie is an attorney and the managing partner of Hastie Legal. He’s active in numerous community organizations and projects. And he’s a historian. Alex is on the Board of Trustees with the Ohio History Connection (formerly the Ohio Historical Society). His popular...

Election Day is just over a week away. One of your biggest choices, if you’ve not already cast your ballot, is to decide who will serve the next four years as governor of Ohio. Today, you get to hear from democratic candidate Richard Cordray. Mr. Cordray’s visit follows up last week’s show with republican candidate Mike DeWine. What are Ohio’s biggest issues and how will they be handled? Hear what...

Democrat Richard Cordray and Republican Mike DeWine want to be the next governor of the state of Ohio. Over the next two weeks, both candidates will talk with us about the challenges facing Ohio, their solutions and their vision for the state. We’re concluding our series of shows with the candidates for all statewide offices by spending an hour each with the two major party gubernatorial candidate...

Election day is just a little over 3 weeks away. Do you know who you’ll vote for to serve as Ohio’s top law enforcement official? Democrat Steve Dettelbach and Republican Dave Yost both want to be your next attorney general. What do they believe are the top issues affecting Ohioans? How will they carry out their jobs? We’ll get into those topics and more as we continue our series of shows introduc...

As a taxpayer, you want someone to take good care of the money you provide to the state of Ohio. Today’s guests want that job. Democrat Rob Richardson and Republican Robert Sprague are the candidates for State Treasurer, who collects, invests and protects your tax dollars. You’ll hear them talk about issues important to Ohioans, and make their case for your vote. Our pre-election visits with the s...

National political pundits are saying that control of the U.S. Senate is up for grabs. Among the key states being watched closely ahead of the November election is Ohio. Incumbent democrat, Senator Sherrod Brown is facing off against republican challenger, Congressman Jim Renacci. Both Mr. Brown and Mr. Renacci sat down in the Town Hall Ohio studio to spend some time talking about key issues that...

Ohio Representative Kathleen Clyde and Ohio senator frank LaRose are both seeking a new job. The same job. They want to be Ohio’s next Secretary of State. Today, we continue our series of pre-election shows in which you’ll hear first-hand from the statewide candidates. Today, we focus on the democrat and republican who wants to serve as Ohio’s Chief Elections Officer and leads the state’s programs...

While the vast majority of Americans live in urbanized areas, the vast majority of the United States is classified as rural. 72% of our nation’s landmass is rural, and 46 million people live there. Serving that community is the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and in particular, USDA’s rural development agency. Its head, Anne Hazlett, and its Ohio leader, Dave Hall, join Farm Bureau’s Yvonne Lesick...

If you grew up or live in many parts of northeast Ohio (same with much of northwest and central Ohio) and you’ve ever driven the back roads, you’re probably familiar with the sight of a slow moving buggy being drawn by a horse. Ohio is home to more than 74,000 Amish, about a quarter of the nation’s total Amish population. On this episode of Town Hall Ohio, we’ll take a look inside Ohio’s Amish com...