While Ohio has lost more than 312,000 acres of agricultural land since 2001, there are still more than 10 million acres of farmland in the state, according to the American Farmland Trust.

Reasons for lost cropland include the development of commercial, industry and residential areas. But since 2020, farming practices have also changed.

The COVID-19 pandemic placed renewed attention on an increasingly consolidated agricultural industry where family farms have been swallowed up by large food corporations, while shifting purchasing behaviors caused massive economic swings in the U.S.

Farms have also had to reckon with a changing climate. Wheat fields were once commonplace across the country, but drought conditions of late have caused farmers to give up growing the crop entirely.

Right now, the most common crop in Ohio is soybeans, a crop with a demand forecasted by the federal government to grow in the coming decade.

To illustrate where American farms still persevere, Stacker compiled a list of counties with the most farmland in Ohio using data from the Agriculture Department’s Farm Service Agency. Farmers reported the data as mandated by participation in USDA income support programs, including Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage as well as loan assistance.

Counties are ranked by total acres of farmland. In every case in the top 10, the most common crop was soybeans.

No. 10. Henry

Farmland: 234,984 acres (2.3% of state total)

Farms: 2,493

Soybeans: 111,091 acres (47.3% of county farmland)

No. 9. Crawford

Farmland: 240,619 acres (2.3% of state total)

Farms: 1,937

Soybeans: 112,314 acres (46.7% of county farmland)

No. 8. Hancock

Farmland: 250,944 acres (2.4% of state total)

Farms: 2,861

Soybeans: 137,047 acres (54.6% of county farmland)

No. 7. Hardin

Farmland: 251,902 acres (2.4% of state total)

Farms: 1,956

Soybeans: 122,899 acres (48.8% of county farmland)

No. 6. Pickaway

Farmland: 254,822 acres (2.5% of state total)

Farms: 1,761

Soybeans: 122,224 acres (48% of county farmland)

No. 5. Seneca

Farmland: 262,098 acres (2.5% of state total)

Farms: 2,477

Soybeans: 133,056 acres (50.8% of county farmland)

No. 4. Mercer

Farmland: 275,187 acres (2.7% of state total)

Farms: 2,970

Soybeans: 117,047 acres (42.5% of county farmland)

No. 3. Putnam

Farmland: 276,899 acres (2.7% of state total)

Farms: 3,144

Soybeans: 144,242 acres (52.1% of county farmland)

No. 2. Wood

Farmland: 306,467 acres (3.0% of state total)

Farms: 3,527

Soybeans: 166,317 acres (54.3% of county farmland)

No. 1. Darke

Farmland: 308,012 acres (3.0% of state total)

Farms: 3,831

Soybeans: 146,699 acres (47.6% of county farmland)

Source: Cleveland.com