COLUMBUS, Ohio—That tomato plant you had hopes for might have lagged during the summer’s rainless days.
Or maybe it had you filling bag after bag to give to the neighbors, and the triumph inspired a new ambition: I should add fruit to my backyard. Grapes. Berries. Maybe apples?
Great idea if you’ve got the space. But there’s a lot to consider before you fill a patch in the yard, and months later, can reap the fruits of your labor. How sunny is your yard? Is it well-drained, or does it stay wet all spring? Do you want to spray pesticides? Do you have time to take care of backyard fruit?
It helps to start small, said Gregory Meyer, an educator with Ohio State University Extension, the outreach arm of The Ohio State University College of Food,...
Last week it was onions, and now this week peaches have been recalled due to salmonella. What is salmonella, and how do fruits and vegetables get contaminated with it?
Good question. First, let’s look at the current recall that was linked to loose or bagged peaches packed or supplied by Prima Wawona or Wawona Packing Company LLC, according to an Aug. 27 alert from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The peaches, which were sold in many large retailers, including Aldi, Target, Walmart, and Kroger, were recalled due to potential contamination with salmonella enteritidis. A list of the impacted fruit can be found here. The peaches recall occurs as a nationwide onion recall—also due to salmonella contamination—was expanded Aug. 18 ...
COLUMBUS, Ohio—There’s growing interest in on-farm butchering, say experts at The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), and they’re offering guidance for doing it right.
As major meat processors have suffered shutdowns and back-ups because of COVID-19, and as small processors have been swamped with business as an alternative for slaughtering market-ready livestock, more and more farmers have started to think about simply doing it themselves.
But processing livestock safely, humanely, and legally isn’t a simple thing at all, said Lyda Garcia, assistant professor of meat science in the CFAES Department of Animal Sciences.
“I grew up in south Texas, where on-the-farm animal...
My grocery bill has risen by almost $80 a month since March and it’s becoming harder to keep spending so much more than we used to. Do you have any tips on how we can cut our food costs?
You aren’t alone in noticing the increase in the price of some foods. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, food prices increased some 5.6% in June as compared to the same time last year. Additionally, between March and June, the cost of poultry and eggs have increased more than 7%, while the costs of veal and meat has increased more than 20%.
Much of the increase, experts say, has been attributed to several reason, including the increased demand for groceries with more people buying food to eat at home as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as issues...
COLUMBUS, Ohio—It’s crazy to start a vegetable garden in fall, right?
Actually, it’s crazy not to—that is, if you like having lots of fresh produce to eat.
Plus, now it can taste like Victory.
Contrary to what some people think, vegetable gardening doesn’t end with summer, said Pam Bennett, horticulture educator with The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).
Come autumn in Ohio, “there’s still plenty of time left in the growing season,” she said.
Bennett directs CFAES’ statewide Master Gardener Volunteers program. And she’s helping lead the new Ohio Victory Gardens program, a joint effort by CFAES and the Ohio Department of...
What: Brian Roe, a professor of agricultural economics at The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) and the leader of the Ohio State Food Waste Collaborative, will participate in a report release webinar on reducing consumer food waste hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM).
When: The webinar is noon Aug. 21. Advance copies of the report, “A National Strategy to Reduce Food Waste at the Consumer Level,” will be available to reporters at noon Aug. 20. The report is embargoed until 11 a.m. Aug. 21. Reporters who wish to obtain embargoed copies should contact the NASEM Office of News and Public Information at 202-334-2138 or email news@nas.edu.
Where: Online...
How do I know if the onions or other food products in my pantry or fridge are part of a recall I just heard about?
There are currently two recalls to which you might be referring. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a warning recently about onions that have been recalled by Thomson International Inc. of Bakersfield, Calif., due to concerns that the products might be contaminated with salmonella Newport.
Likewise, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service issued a public health alert this week for ready-to-eat meat and poultry products containing onions that were a part of the FDA warning.
According to the FDA, the onions, recalled on Aug. 1, include all of Thompson International’s red, white, yellow, and sweet...
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Congratulations to college alumna Elizabeth A. Harsh, who has been appointed to The Ohio State University Board of Trustees.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Harsh, executive director of the Ohio Beef Council and the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association, to a term as trustee that began Wednesday and ends May 13, 2029.
“I look forward to this exciting and challenging opportunity to help contribute to the continued success of The Ohio State University,” Harsh said Thursday. “Ohio State has always held such a special place in my life, with my family and my career, and I welcome this new role with great anticipation.”
The board of trustees has full fiduciary authority for both the university’s academic and health sciences organizations...
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Farmers in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan now have a new guide for creating fertile ground for their corn, soybean, wheat, and alfalfa crops.
Working with a team of soil scientists and agronomists from across Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, Steve Culman, a soil fertility specialist with The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), led the effort to revise a 1995 guide for fertilizing field crops.
The free and newly revised Tri-State Fertilizer Recommendations for Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, and Alfalfa offers guidelines for how much nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, and micronutrients soil should have to spur high crop yields without jeopardizing water quality.
“...
COLUMBUS, Ohio—With the rapid spread of the new coronavirus believed to have started in bats, some people might be genuinely concerned about their farm animals. Could the animals catch COVID-19?
The answer is murky.
While there have been no reported cases of pigs, horses, sheep, chickens, or cows getting COVID-19, their susceptibility to the respiratory disease has yet to be studied.
And though some pig cells have been able to get the virus that causes COVID-19 in lab studies, it does not appear that pigs can catch or spread the virus very easily, said Scott Kenney, an assistant professor of veterinary preventive medicine at The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).
“There are a...
