King Announces Beginning Farmer Credit is Now Available

COLUMBUS – State Representative Angie King (R-Celina) announces the Beginning Farmer Credit recently started accepting enrollment. 

“Farming is the backbone of Ohio’s economy and it is alive and well here in the 84th House District,” said King. “This program will keeping farming as the state’s top economic industry for generations to come.”

The program is being administered through the Ohio Department of Agriculture and is offered to those who have recently entered into the field or those that help beginning farmers.

To qualify, a beginning farmer is someone who:

• Is a resident of Ohio;
• Is seeking entry to or has entered farming within the last 10 years;
• Farms or intends to farm on land in Ohio;
• Is not a partner, member, shareholder, or trustee of the assets the individual is seeking to purchase or rent;
• Has a total net worth of less than $800,000, including spouse and dependent assets, as adjusted for inflation each year;
• Provides majority of daily physical labor and management of the farm;
• Has adequate farming experience or knowledge in the type of farming for which seeking assistance;
• Submits projected earnings statements and demonstrates profit potential;
• Demonstrates farming will be a significant source of income for the individual;
• Participates in a financial management program approved by ODA.

Along with beginning farmers, asset owners, or people or businesses that sell or rent farmland, livestock, buildings, or equipment to beginning famers may apply as well. In order for land to qualify as an asset, it must either total at least 10 acres or produce an average annual income of at least $2,500 for farming.

The Beginning Farmer Tax Credit equals 3.99% of one of the following:

• In the case of a sale, the sale price. The credit must be claimed in the year of the sale;
• In the case of a rental, the gross rental income that the individual or business received during the first three years of the rental agreement. To qualify for the credit, an asset must be rented at prevailing community rates. In the case of a rental, the credit is claimed over the first three years of the rental or share-rent agreement;
• In the case of a rental through a share-rent agreement, the gross rental income received during the first three years of the share-rent agreement. (A share-rent agreement is an arrangement by which, in exchange for the rented assets, the beginning farmer provides the owner of the assets with a specified portion of the farm products produced from the assets.) In the case of a rental, the credit is claimed over the first three years of the rental or share-rent agreement.

To learn more about the Beginning Farm Credit or to enroll in the program visit the ODA website.