Tip 1: Breakfast on the farm. Ever wondered how a dairy farm operates or where your food comes from? Breakfast on the Farm, a free event on June 15, will provide consumers a firsthand look at modern food production, said Eric Richer, an Ohio State University Extension educator. OSU Extension is the outreach arm of The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). The breakfast event is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Henricks & Krieger Dairy, 14692 County Road 16-3, in Fayette, Ohio. The event is free but requires registration. Register at go.osu.edu/fultonbotfregister2019. The event allows the community to visit local farming operations, have a close-to-home agricultural experience, and interact with farm families who provide a wholesome food...
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Over 16,000 new and unusual perennials and annuals, native Ohio plants, herbs, and heirloom and organic vegetables will be offered at Chadwick Arboretum & Learning Gardens’ Spring Plant Sale and Auction Fundraiser set for May 9–11 on The Ohio State University’s Columbus campus.
Hand-picked by a team of horticulturists with Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), all plants in the 32nd annual sale are disease-resistant, of high quality, and are adapted for growing well in Ohio. Visitors will also find colorful hanging baskets, specialty trees, edible plants, unusual and dwarf conifers, and rain garden plants.
A preview party will be held for Chadwick Arboretum members, known as Friends of...
Tip 1: Keeping plastic out of landfills with a biodegradable replacement: Companies looking to shrink their environmental footprint are already showing interest in new research from The Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). Almost all plastics—about 90%—are petroleum-based and not biodegradable, a major environmental concern. A CFAES research team reports success with a rubber-toughened product that could perform like conventional plastic and is much stronger. Beyond packaged foods, a bioplastic could also be used in other food-related applications such as utensils and cutting boards. Read more about the research here or contact Yael Vodovotz, professor of food science and technology, and director of the Center...
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Scientist Guo-Liang Wang, an international leader in rice genetics, has received The Ohio State University’s Distinguished Scholar Award for his contributions to global food security.
The award, which includes a $20,000 research grant and a $3,000 honorarium, recognizes exceptional scholarly accomplishments by senior professors who have compiled a substantial body of research.
Wang, a professor of plant pathology in Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) since 1999, has produced pioneering insights into the resistance of crop plants to fungal and bacterial pathogens, specifically disease resistance in rice.
Rice is one of the most important crop plants on the planet, feeding half the world’s population...
Tip 1: Maple Madness: North America is the only place in the world that produces maple syrup, and Ohio is one of 12 maple-producing states. Each year, the Buckeye state ranks 4th or 5th in maple production. Maple syrup is made from sap collected from sugar, black, and red maple trees during February and March. Freezing nights and warm days are required for the sap to flow properly from the trees. Get the scoop on this year’s projected maple sap run from Gary Graham, who leads the Ohio State University Extension Maple Syrup Program at Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). He can be reached at 330-674-3015 or graham.124@osu.edu. Approximately 40 sugar houses will be open in northwest, central, and northeast Ohio on the Ohio Maple...
Tip 1: Farming in Ohio cities: In formerly vacant city lots across Ohio, urban farms are increasingly sprouting up. Ohio State University Extension, the outreach arm of The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), partners with urban growers to increase the production of local foods and to create jobs. Columbus now has an estimated 30 urban farms, and Cleveland has 45. OSU Extension offers training and resources to help members of urban agriculture operations get their farms up and running, and then sell their produce. An article on Ohio’s urban farms, which can be republished, is available at: go.osu.edu/urbanaginohio.
Tip 2: Help for beginning and small farms: Running a farm of any size can be challenging but, for small farms, the...
Tip 1: Gypsy Moth Surge: Ohio has experienced a resurgence in the gypsy moth over the past two years. The gypsy moth is a non-native pest that feeds on leaves and needles of over 300 different trees. The damage gypsy moths do occurs in the spring and early summer when populations are present. Some of the hot spots include Marion and Lucas counties. The Ohio Department of Agriculture will host a series of meetings in February to discuss aerial treatments planned for this spring. Amy Stone, an educator with Ohio State University Extension, can address questions from the media about the prevalence of the gypsy moth and the problems it has created. Stone can be reached at stone.91@osu.edu or 419-392-1308. OSU Extension is the outreach arm of The Ohio State University College of Food,...
Tip 1: Important Farm Bill Changes. The new Farm Bill will provide dairy farmers with a stronger safety net against low milk prices and high feed costs. More federal dollars will also be spent to spur international trade of American agricultural products. Both changes could help farmers at a time when revenues from selling milk, corn and soybeans have dipped and markets have shrunk. Learn what agricultural economists in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) at The Ohio State University, think about these changes and more in the federal bill now awaiting the President’s signature. Contact either Carl Zulauf, professor emeritus, at carzul1980@gmail.com or 614-314-1439, or Ben Brown, manager of the CFAES farm management program, at brown.6888@osu.edu or...
Tip 1: Picking the Greenest Option for the Holidays: If you're like many people, Thanksgiving weekend is not only for turkey and the trimmings, but also for decorating your home for the holidays. Do you purchase a fresh cut tree and greenery or do you dig out last year’s reusable items from the attic? Have you thought about the impact these items have on our environment and our culture? Elizabeth Toman, visiting assistant professor in The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), can discuss a life cycle analysis of real and artificial holiday decorations that highlights local and global supply chains and their sustainability trade-offs. Contact her in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at 614-688-1057 or toman....
Tip 1: ’Shrooms for the Taking in our Backyards and Woods. Fall is a great time not only for all things pumpkin spice, but for wild Ohio mushrooms as well. Erika Lyon, an Ohio State University Extension educator in Jefferson and Harrison counties, knows all about the fungi and lists her favorite mushroom groups to find during this time of year as the corals and jellies. She also warns that some white mushrooms look like button and meadow mushrooms, but are deadly if consumed. To chat about what kind of mushrooms you might find in your yard or the woods, contact Lyon at 740-264-2212 or lyon.194@osu.edu. OSU Extension offers a mushroom resource handbook titled Mushrooms and Macrofungi of Ohio and the Midwestern States. The handbook is $26.25 for a print copy and $8 for a PDF copy...
Tip 1: Glyphosate and Cancer – Glyphosate weed killer has been in the news in recent months. In August, a jury awarded $289 million in damages to a California pesticide applicator who sued Monsanto over the claim that glyphosate caused his cancer. However, pesticide applicators have also received reassurances from the 2018 Agricultural Health Study and other risk assessments that glyphosate is not carcinogenic at real-world exposure levels. Since 1993, the U.S. Agricultural Health Study has examined how agricultural practices affect cancer and health outcomes among licensed pesticide applicators. An analysis in 2001 showed no significant associations between glyphosate and cancer. In 2018, an updated analysis of the Agricultural Health Study data included 54,252 pesticide...
Tip 1: Farming always ranks as one of the most dangerous occupations. This time of year can be especially hazardous with the upcoming harvest and storage of crops. Ohio State University Extension will host two free grain bin safety programs in Madison County Aug. 29, at the county fairground in London. One program is geared to farmers, grain industry employees and farm families, while the second program is for first responders. Both programs will use the grain Community Agricultural Rescue Trailer (CART) for rescue simulations. The on-farm safety program is from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., and the first responders program is 9 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information, contact Mary Griffith, Madison County Extension agriculture and natural resources educator, at griffith.43@osu.edu or 740-852-0975. OSU...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Tony Nye is a man on a mission.
A serious heart-related illness in late 2017 shook him to his core. It also convinced him that many farmers, both small-scale and large-scale, need to hear what he has to say.
“I was as close to knocking on the Pearly Gates as possible before I turned the corner,” he recalled. After surgery, he lost both weight and strength and spent a month in the hospital. “I wasn’t able to return to the barns for almost six months.”
Those barns are on his 50-acre Fayette County farm, where Nye raises meat goats and artificially breeds purebred swine. The swine herd consists of 20 sows and a boar stud that he lightheartedly refers to as “boar in a bottle.” The farm also includes some grain...
Tip 1: The Endangered Species Act has been prominent in the news recently as efforts to weaken the law have been either introduced or voted on in Congress or proposed by the current presidential administration. Researchers in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University (CFAES) have found that attempts to roll back the act runs counter to most people’s interests. A July 27 CFAES story details a new study that found that roughly four out of five Americans support the act, and only one in 10 oppose it. That support reaches across party lines with about 74 percent of conservatives, 77 percent of moderates and 90 percent of liberals saying they support the act. Learn more about the study from Jeremy Bruskotter, an associate professor in...
Tip 1: Managing black vulture damage in Ohio: Not only are they not very appealing in the looks department, but black vultures can also do some real damage both on-farm and off. Although these scavengers play an important role in the ecosystem, they can attack and kill calves, lambs, piglets and other weak animals. They can also damage homes, commercial buildings, vehicles, boats and tractors. The fact that they’re protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, state laws and regulations, makes their management tricky. Homeowners and farmers alike must work with wildlife specialists on their control. Find out more from: Marne A. Titchenell, Ohio State wildlife program specialist, OSU Extension, School of Environment and Natural Resources, titchenell.4@osu.edu, 614-292-0402....
Tip 1: Plant Sales in Columbus and Wooster.
Two arboretums, owned and operated by The Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, are having plant sales and auctions on May 10 and 11. The Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Gardens, located on Ohio State’s Columbus campus, will present its Spring Plant Sale on May 11 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on May 12 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The sales will be held at the corner of Lane Avenue and Fred Taylor Drive, just east of State Route 315. Casey Sclar, executive director of the American Public Gardens Association, will be a special guest on Friday from 10 a.m. to noon. Contact Mary Maloney, director of Chadwick, 614-688-3479, maloney.23@osu.edu. The Friends of Secrest Arboretum on CFAES’s...
COLUMBUS—A State Farm Insurance grant of $13,400 has been awarded to the Ohio 4-H CARTEENS program to address teen driver safety and, specifically, drugged driving.
While distracted, drunk and buzzed driving have been focal points in the CARTEENS curriculum for many years, State Farm noted that drugged driving has become more problematic due largely to increased opioid addiction.
CARTEENS, which is taught by 4-H teen leaders and their advisors in 57 Ohio counties, works to reduce the number of repeat juvenile traffic offenders, decrease the number of teen traffic offenders and increase teen awareness of traffic safety. 4-H youth development programs are part of Ohio State University Extension.
“OSU Extension is thrilled to work with State Farm to enhance the impact of...
Editor’s note: This article includes cutline information and an additional photo. Due to a technical issue, the previous version of this article did not include them.
A new technology could make it possible to save a growing crop from imminent widespread disaster – whether drought, pest or disease.
And it doesn’t come in a pesticide sprayer.
Rather, scientists from The Ohio State University and partner institutions are using cutting-edge technologies from three scientific fields and combining them to provide an insect-delivered antidote, of sorts, to whatever ails a growing plant.
Dubbed “Insect Allies,” the project is being supported by a $10 million cooperative agreement with the federal Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Guo-...
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Members of the media are invited to attend an April 3 Media Day with Cathann Arceneaux Kress, newly appointed vice president for agricultural administration at The Ohio State University and dean of its College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).
The Media Day will be held on campus from 10-11 a.m. in Room 140G, Agricultural Administration Building, 2120 Fyffe Road, Columbus. Directional signs will point the way once you enter the main entrance on the back side of the building. Subject to approval by Ohio State’s Board of Trustees, Kress will begin her appointment on May 1. She currently serves as vice president for extension and outreach and director of cooperative extension at Iowa State University.
Kress will be available for a Q...
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The weather in Ohio has been especially unpredictable this year. Record-setting highs were often followed by bone-chilling lows. Not only did it make daily clothes selection a challenge, but the unusual weather patterns may also impact everything from grapes, tree fruits and berries to landscape plants, flowers and pests.
Many spring-budding plants and trees have already bloomed in some areas thanks to a near record-setting stretch of warm weather that much of the state experienced. Then, just this week, winter returned in force as Ohio experienced snow and below average frigid temperatures.
Experts with The Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, including with Ohio State University Extension and the...
WOOSTER, Ohio — Chang-Won (Charles) Lee, a virologist with The Ohio State University, is available to speak with the media about the avian flu virus.
Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that a strain of the bird flu has been detected in a Tennessee chicken breeder flock contracted to food giant Tyson Foods Inc. As a result, the farm will euthanize 73,500 birds to stop the virus from entering the food system, the USDA said.
Today, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture said in a news release that tests confirmed the presence of the H7 strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or HPAI, at the facility in Lincoln County, Tennessee.
Avian flu is one of many respiratory diseases that Lee conducts research on at the Ohio Agricultural Research and...
WOOSTER, Ohio – Chang-Won (Charles) Lee, a virologist with The Ohio State University, is making a significant contribution toward national and international food security. His research into microbes — things like bacteria, fungi and viruses — that live in a chicken’s upper respiratory tract is helping not only poultry farmers and their birds breathe easier, but consumers as well.
Avian flu is one of many respiratory diseases that can harm a bird flock. In 2015, a U.S. avian flu outbreak required the slaughter of 50 million chickens and turkeys. Even more alarming, it’s a zoonotic disease, meaning it can spread between animals and people.
China is currently in the midst of such an outbreak. Many live poultry markets were shut down to reduce human...
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Lunchtime in Ohio’s largest school district will take on a decidedly home state feel on Jan. 25 when Columbus City Schools kicks off a monthly effort to showcase Ohio grown, raised or processed food.
Branded as “Ohio Days: My Plate, My State,” school cafeterias will serve more than 52,000 Columbus schoolchildren with a meal that will include turkey from Bowman and Landes family farm in New Carlisle, gravy and dressing from Sandridge Foods in Medina, apples from Bauman Orchards in Rittman, milk from United Dairy in Martins Ferry, and a salad mix from Waterfields, a hydroponic facility in Cincinnati. Special guests will include Dan Good, superintendent/CEO of Columbus City Schools, David T. Daniels, director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture,...
