Honoring Meigs County’s Agricultural Roots through ODA’s Century Farm Program

POMEROY – Meigs County is blessed with an agricultural heritage that has provided many historic, social and economic benefits to today’s citizens. Early farm families laid the foundation for today’s food and agriculture industry – the no. 1 industry in the state – which adds $105 billion to the economy each year, according to Steve Jenkins, program administrator for the Meigs Soil and Water Conservation District.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Century Farm program was established in 1993 as a way to honor our pioneering farm families, and the Bicentennial Farm program was added in 2013. More than 1,000 Ohio farms which have been in the same family for at least 100 years are now registered as Ohio Bicentennial or Century Farms.

The Meigs SWCD is proud to recognize three local farms registered as Ohio Century Farms: Arthur Nease, Racine (1833), Virgil Windon, Chester (1869), and James Osborne, Reedsville (1872).

Jenkins encourages Meigs County families who may qualify to learn more on the program website (www.agri.ohio.gov/divs/cent_farms/), or contact Program Manager Cindy Shy at [email protected] or 614-752-9817.