And Torres, director of the Fairfield County Farm Bureau, also knows how important it is for farmland owners to help keep it that way.

The bureau, in partnership with the Ohio Department of Agriculture, will play host to an educational session in February about how farmland owners can protect their land from commercial development.

Farmland owners are encouraged to attend the meeting in Logan to learn about the state's Agricultural Easement Purchase Program.

"We've got some of the best soils in the country (in Ohio), and we want to educate people on how to protect that land," Torres said.