LONDON, Ohio — The calls of gray tree frogs remind Marne Titchenell of “summer evenings spent outside watching lightning bugs.”
Her favorite snake is the eastern hognose. “It actually plays dead like an opossum,” she says.
But she can’t choose a favorite salamander: “They’re all incredible.”
Titchenell is a wildlife specialist with The Ohio State University, and on Sept. 20, she’ll share what she loves about reptiles and amphibians, including why they’re good to have as neighbors, at the annual Farm Science Review trade show near London, Ohio.
Get to know them and how they can help you
Her talk, called “Common Frogs and Snakes of Ohio,” which will cover turtles, toads...
I heard a report on the radio this morning that said pizza injuries have caused some people to go to the hospital. What is that all about?
You may be referring to a Sept. 5 tweet by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission that reported on the number of trips to hospital emergency rooms that consumers across the country have said were associated with … pizza.
Yep, I said “pizza” and “emergency rooms” in the same sentence. How is that possible?
It turns out that last year alone, some 2,300 hospital emergency room visits by consumers were reportedly for pizza-related injuries, according to the CPSC. The government agency said many of the injuries were caused by, but not limited to:
Cuts obtained from cutting pizza
Burns obtained from hot...
LONDON, Ohio – Agricultural safety professionals with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University (CFAES) will use virtual reality to educate and prepare farmers to be safe on the farm, during a demonstration and exhibit offered at the annual Farm Science Review, Sept. 18-20.
The exhibit will use virtual reality to demonstrate commercial and industrial fall protection systems and practices. The 3-5 minute experience will offer Review attendees a simulated experience on the roof of a two-story building where they can locate common fall hazards and select proper fall protection equipment. Studies show that the closer a safety training program can replicate reality, the more those trainings will stick, organizers said.
Virtual...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A farmer-led group that aims to improve Ohio farm profitability while increasing the number of Ohioans who can afford to buy nutritious meals will meet next week to receive public feedback on its recommendations.
In Ohio, nearly 1 in 7 households experiences food insecurity to the extent that it cannot afford balanced meals on a regular basis, a rate higher than the national average, according to the U.S Department of Agriculture.
At the same time, many Ohio farmers face low commodity prices, decreased foreign markets for their crops and severe weather that has triggered crop losses.
With those challenges in mind, Ohio Smart Agriculture: Solutions from the Land, a statewide farmer-led initiative that includes representatives from the College of Food,...
Tip 1: The Weekend’s Nonstop Rain … and More to Come? The rain that saturated much of Ohio this past weekend totaled more than seven inches in southwestern Ohio near the Indiana border. Much of southern and southwestern Ohio received four to six times the rainfall typical for this time of year. The deluge is slowing harvest as crops and waterlogged fields have to dry out. With Hurricane Florence expected to reach the East Coast by Friday, more rain could be in store for Ohioans. For insights on how the rain is affecting crops, contact Elizabeth Hawkins, an agronomy field specialist with Ohio State University Extension, the outreach arm of Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). She can be reached at hawkins.301@osu.edu or 937-286-...
What’s the difference between meat, “clean meat” and plant-based “meat?” It’s all getting a bit confusing.
This is a very interesting question that is on the mind of many livestock producers and food makers recently thanks to a new law in at least one state that legally defines what constitutes “meat.”
Last week, lawmakers in Missouri became the first nationwide to create new provisions in their state’s Meat Advertising Law that require that any food or meat product that is called “meat” must be derived from livestock or poultry flesh.
The new provisions, which will begin to be enforced Jan. 1, 2019, say that meat products that aren’t derived from animal flesh must include a statement on the product...
LONDON, Ohio — On their way to the 56th annual Farm Science Review, Sept. 18-20, some 130,000 visitors will likely pass hundreds of acres of soybean fields. But one field in particular is sporting more Buckeye pride than any other. From an aerial view, the world’s largest Script Ohio emerges from a 100-acre field just east of the Molly Caren Agricultural Center in London, site of the Review.
For the past four years, The Ohio State University’s Precision Agriculture program has demonstrated GPS-guided “smart planting” using multiple corn hybrids. The team brought Buckeye spirit to the field with a simple block “O” in 2015, Brutus Buckeye in 2016, and Ohio State Athletics Block O last year. Now, Precision Agriculture has brought the Ohio...
LONDON, Ohio – As the demand for local foods continues to increase, more farmers, growers and food producers are taking advantage of the increasing opportunities to sell their products at farmers markets and directly to restaurants.
But making their products stand out from the competition takes some extra effort, says Mary Griffith, agriculture and natural resources educator in Ohio State University Extension’s Madison County office.
“Farmers and producers who sell their products at a farmers market or to a restaurant have to depend on relationship building with potential consumers in order to develop a customer base,” she said. “Working in direct marketing is so dependent on building and maintaining relationships with customers as well as setting...
Tip 1: How to know the best times to apply fertilizer and manure: Using real-time rain forecasts and historical climate data, The Ohio State University’s new free Field Application Resource Monitor (FARM) website, farm.bpcrc.osu.edu, tells farmers the best times to apply fertilizer and manure, pinpointed to the farmers’ exact locations. It benefits crops and costs by helping farmers avoid rain events that could wash away that fertilizer and manure. It’s good for water quality, too, for the same reason. Learn more by talking to Aaron Wilson, who has appointments with Ohio State’s Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center and the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), wilson.1010@osu.edu, 614-292-7930.
Tip 2: How algal blooms affect how...
With canning season in swing now, I have some home canning recipes that have been passed down through my family over decades that I want to try. With all the new techniques and information that have been developed regarding home food preservation, can I still use those old recipes?
While it’s a wonderful, cherished tradition in many families to preserve food based on recipes that were developed and honed over the years in grandma’s, great-grandma’s and great-great-grandma’s kitchens, you should review those recipes, and if they don’t match recipes that have been tested and researched by food safety experts, you shouldn’t use them.
The National Center for Home Food Preservation is a valuable source for current research-based recommendations for...
