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Ohio agriculture director outlines biennial budget with new animal lab, H2Ohio funding and farmland preservation aid
Summary
Director Baldridge told the Ohio House Agricultural Committee the Department of Agriculture's proposed FY26–27 budget emphasizes lab capacity and disease response, continues funding for H2Ohio, and expands farmland preservation grants; he warned the department remains in active response to highly pathogenic avian influenza.
Director Baldridge, director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, told the Ohio House Agricultural Committee on Feb. 12 that the department's proposed biennial budget requests roughly $80,000,000 for FY 2026 and $180,900,000 for FY 2027 to support regulatory work, laboratory services and farming programs.
The budget, Baldridge said, aims to improve agency efficiency while funding “high risk issues” such as animal disease preparedness. "The mission at the department is to ensure the safety of the state's food supply, health of Ohio livestock and plants, while creating economic opportunities for Ohio farmers, food processors, and agribusinesses," he said.
Why it matters: the testimony framed laboratory capacity, disease response and farm-support reimbursements as central to the state's ability to protect agricultural producers and the food supply. Lawmakers pressed Baldridge on the department's capacity to handle a continuing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian…
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