PIKETON, Ohio – Are you a specialty fruit or vegetable crop producer looking to gain a better understanding of how to use high tunnels to boost on-farm profits? Now you have the opportunity to attend a joint Ohio State University Extension and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) workshop on this topic, Feb. 8, 2013.
The workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the OSU South Centers at Piketon, 1864 Shyville Road. Registration is $20, with a Jan. 15, 2013, deadline.
The workshop will feature OSU Extension horticulturist Brad Bergefurd and Gary Gao, an OSU Extension specialist and associate professor of small fruit crops, both of whom are based at OSU South Centers at Piketon. Abbe Copple, district conservationist at Pike County NRCS,...
SIDNEY, Ohio – People planning to take the Certified Crop Adviser exam can gain testing insight through a two-day CCA exam preparation session taught by members of Ohio State University Extension’s Agronomic Crops Team, Jan. 16-17, 2013.
The course is designed to help participants understand the principles necessary to become a certified crop adviser and to assist in preparation for the state and international CCA exams, said Harold Watters, an OSU Extension agronomy field specialist and coordinator of the university’s Agronomic Crops Team. OSU Extension is the outreach arm of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
While the exam preparation class wasn’t created to be a “crash course” covering all information...
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Farmers, landowners, planners, local officials, land trust leadership, economic development professionals and anyone interested in preserving farmland in Ohio can get tips from the experts on the subject during a farmland summit on Jan. 17.
The 13th annual Ohio Farmland Preservation Summit is designed to help interested parties learn various techniques, tools and methods to preserve farmland, said Mike Hogan, an Ohio State University Extension educator and Small Farm Program coordinator. OSU Extension is the outreach arm of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
During past farmland summits, experts have presented tools on legal ways for people to preserve farm land, he said.
“This...
Dear Subscriber of News Releases from Ohio State's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences,
In the next day or two, our news releases will start arriving in your inbox from a new email address: "CFAES News" <CFAESnews@osu.edu>.
Nothing else is changing, but we thought we should give you a heads-up. Please add "cfaesnews@osu.edu" to your address book to ensure future news releases reach your inbox.
If you have any questions, please contact Martha Filipic at filipic.3@osu.edu.
Thank you,
Suzanne Steel and the rest of the CFAES News Team:
Mauricio Espinoza
Martha Filipic
Kurt Knebusch
Tracy Turner
MARYSVILLE, Ohio -- A program on preventing microbial contamination on fruit and vegetable farms will take place from 6-9 p.m. on Jan. 24 at the Union County office of Ohio State University Extension, 18000 State Route 4, Suite E, in Marysville. Food safety and Good Agricultural Practices, or GAPs, for fruit and vegetable production are the focus.
“The Food and Drug Administration should be releasing draft standards for safe production and harvest of fruits and vegetables as part of the Food Safety Modernization Act,” said Ashley Kulhanek of Ohio State University’s Fruit and Vegetable Safety Team, the program’s sponsor. “Whether or not a farm will be exempt from these rules, the new year is a good time to learn about GAPs.”
Kuhlanek said release of...
WOOSTER, Ohio -- This year’s Ohio Maple Days are set for Jan. 24 in Morrow County, Jan. 25 for Wayne and Holmes counties, and Jan. 26 in Geauga County.
The programs, which are the same at each location, offer educational sessions on maple production. They’re timed to help producers get ready for the coming season. Both hobby and commercial producers are welcome.
The sponsor is Ohio State University Extension, which is the statewide outreach arm of Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
The program’s locations:
Jan. 24, Morrow County, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Lutheran Memorial Camp, 2790 State Route 61, Fulton.
Jan. 25, Wayne and Holmes counties, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Mennonite Christian Assembly Church,...
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Tanzania, a country of 42 million nestled on the east coast of Africa, is undergoing a sea change demographically.
Currently, about one-third of Tanzanians live below the poverty line, and more than 4 of 10 Tanzanian children suffer from stunting due to malnutrition. By 2050, Tanzania's population is anticipated to double, and its urban population will exceed its rural population.
To keep pace with these demographic changes and to reduce high rates of malnutrition, agricultural productivity will need to increase.
That's one reason why Tanzania is a focus country of Feed the Future, the Global Hunger and Food Security Initiative of the U.S. government.
And it's why eight Tanzanians are currently enrolled in advanced degree programs in Ohio...
I have a sweet tooth. I’ve been cutting back on sugar lately, but I’m worried about the holidays and all the extra sweets. Do you have any guidance?
It’s a good idea to eat less sugar -- added sugar, that is. It’s estimated that Americans consume 16 percent of total calories from added sugar -- the kind of sugar that’s added to foods during processing or preparation, as opposed to the type naturally found in fruit and other whole foods.
That 16 percent is equal to 320 calories a day on a 2,000 calorie-a-day diet -- far more than recommended. The American Heart Association suggests that women consume no more than 100 calories a day from added sugars, and men no more than 150 calories a day.
The nutrition community agrees that cutting back on sugar...
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- If doomsday -- or, alternatively, winter -- is approaching, you'd better be prepared.
Whether you believe Dec. 21, 2012, marks the end of the world as predicted by the expiration of an ancient Mayan calendar or merely designates the 2012 winter solstice, it's not a bad idea to have a disaster kit ready, said Kent McGuire, health and safety coordinator for Ohio State University's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and Ohio State University Extension.
"A wide variety of winter weather conditions can easily create an emergency situation,” McGuire said. “Conditions such as extreme cold temperatures, above-normal snowfall, ice storms, or blizzard conditions caused by wind can significantly reduce your ability to function...
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The following experts in Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences are available to speak with reporters about the first discovery in Ohio of the walnut twig beetle. The insect is known to carry the fungus that causes deadly Thousand Cankers Disease (TCD) in walnut trees.
The disease itself hasn’t been found at this time, only the insect that can carry it, and only at a single wood-processing business in Butler County in the southwest part of the state, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Department of Agriculture, which announced the discovery on Monday (12/10). Read the agencies’ press release at http://go.osu.edu/QrY.
Nancy Taylor is program director of the C. Wayne...
