COLUMBUS, Ohio – Discovering that hepatitis E virus is associated with sperm in pigs suggests the virus may be both sexually transmitted and linked to male infertility, according to a new study.
Hepatitis E (HEV) is the leading cause of the acute viral liver infection in humans worldwide, mostly in developing regions where sanitation is poor. The virus is also endemic in pigs in the United States – though it is present mostly in organs rather than muscle, and is killed when the meat is cooked.
Because HEV has been linked to fatal pregnancy complications and reports of male infertility in the developing world, researchers at The Ohio State University explored its infectivity in pigs, whose reproductive anatomy closely resembles that of humans.
After inoculating pigs...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Talking to farmers is one way that Shoshanah Inwood gathers her research data at The Ohio State University. She quickly found that childcare, or the lack of it, was often a topic of conversation.
As one Ohio farmer told her, “Lack of childcare has been the primary impediment to growing my farm.” Inwood, an associate professor of community, food, and economic development in Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) has spent the last 10 years building a national reputation related to the issue.
Inwood discovered that the Ohio farmer was far from alone in his opinion when she collected data for the 2023 National Farm Families Childcare Survey. Along with co-author Florence Becot from Pennsylvania State...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Summer begins this week, so now is the time to level up your food preservation expertise. Those tasty tomatoes, cabbages, berries, and other goodies from your garden or local farm market can be made to last with advice from Ohio State University Extension’s food preservation team.
OSU Extension, with offices in all 88 Ohio counties, is the statewide outreach arm of Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
Kate Shumaker, Extension educator in Holmes County, is knowledgeable about techniques such as canning, freezing, drying, and pickling, which are all used to preserve and protect food.
“We have several great resources for anyone interested in food preservation,” she said. “Since ancient times,...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — If you enjoy being outside in the warmer months, just know that you may have plenty of company whether you are in your backyard, on a hiking trail, or on the water. Pests such as mosquitoes and ticks might bite if you get close.
Knowing how to keep you, your family, and your animals tick- and mosquito-safe is important as we enter the time of peak activity, says Tim McDermott, an educator with Ohio State University Extension, the outreach arm of The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).
“We are entering the highest risk period for Lyme disease because nymphal blacklegged ticks, also known as deer ticks, are most active in May and June,” he said.
While Lyme disease doesn’t manifest in every...
COLUMBUS, Ohio—The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) has received a $4.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce and NOAA to fund a project that will train new workers to fulfill the specialized workforce needs of the water industry in the Ohio Great Lakes region.
The grant will fund the project “Training a climate-ready workforce to manage the impacts of climate change on water resources in Ohio coastal communities,” which will be led by Lorrayne Miralha, a CFAES assistant professor of watershed modeling and data analytics. The four-year project will focus on four Ohio counties on the Lake Erie shoreline — Erie, Lorain, Lucas, and Cuyahoga — to train new workers in the areas of stormwater...
Food insecurity is an issue that is exacerbated by strife. In crises, stress is put on the systems that feed people, often leaving many without enough to eat. During World War I, President Woodrow Wilson began the victory gardens program, which asked Americans to grow their own food to support the war effort.
The program was a popular one and was used again during World War II. It resurfaced in Ohio more recently, said Pam Bennett, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There was a huge bump in gardening,” said Bennett, a horticulture educator for The Ohio State University Extension in Clark County. “People wanted to know how to grow vegetables. We got calls from people wanting help on how to do it, where to find seeds and so forth.”
Following a...
LONDON, Ohio -- The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) will host the 24th annual Manure Science Review on August 6, 2024 at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center in London, Ohio.
Aimed at farmers, crop consultants, soil conservation workers and others, the Manure Science Review will feature speakers and field demonstrations from Ohio State and other qualified companies and institutions.
The mornings speakers will begin with representatives from the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), presenting H2Ohio updates as well as best practices for manure application by Frances Springer. Will Osterholz from the Natural Resources Conservation Service will then discuss the effects of manure placement on subsurface drainage,...
The Ohio State University will lead a $2.5 million USDA-funded effort to help reduce food loss and waste. Brian Roe, professor in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), will manage a pilot consumer campaign designed to reduce the amount of food that is wasted in U.S. households.
Roe, the Fred N. VanBuren Professor of Farm Management in the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics (AEDE), will partner with Sara Elnakib, associate director of Cooperative Extension at Rutgers University. They will develop educational messages and campaign materials that can meaningfully reduce the amount of U.S. household food waste.
“About one-third of all food is wasted, with about half of that occurring in homes...
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Heavy rains and wet fields across the region that have delayed planting have some farmers questioning whether they should swap out their full-season varieties with early-maturing ones that will produce crops in a shorter period of time.
That depends, says Laura Lindsey, a field crops expert with The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). Lindsey, a soybean and small grains specialist with Ohio State University Extension, CFAES’ outreach arm, said for both corn and soybean, timely planting is important to maximize yield.
In CFAES soybean trials, yields have decreased as much as a 0.5 bushels per acre for each day planted after the end of April, she said.
Similarly, for corn, yield can...
Tracy Kitchel has been reappointed as senior associate dean and director of faculty and staff affairs in The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). The reappointment is effective July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2028.
“I appreciate Dr. Kitchel’s dedicated efforts and continued pursuit of excellence in these important areas,” said Cathann A. Kress, Ohio State vice president for agricultural administration and dean of CFAES. “Congratulations on a well-deserved reappointment. I look forward to seeing what his accomplishments will be during the next four years.”
Kitchel earned his BS and MS at Ohio State, and his PhD at the University of Missouri, all in agricultural education. Prior to his first term as...
