How do you learn about agriculture and your community? With “two faces” in Clermont County – urban and rural – it is important to address how agriculture and the community work together to provide the necessary resources for everyday life. A diverse audience attends the Clermont County fair: rural, urban and suburban. This is due, in part, to the location of Clermont County in southwest Ohio (it is situated adjacent to the urban city of Cincinnati) and it being a county with rich roots in agricultural history.
As the need was identified to inform the diverse audience, the Clermont County Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Educator and Community Development Program Coordinator collaborated to educate the public on agriculture and community development. The specific audience targeted involved the public and exhibitors who attended the Clermont County Fair in 2016 and 2017.
To educate this audience, posters (Ag in the Community) were created with facts from United States Department of Agriculture statistics, county statistics and various commodity organizations. Each poster has a QR code or barcode, which may be scanned with a smart device, linked to an online blog page for data collection. Posters were color printed on 11”x 17” paper and laminated before being displayed around the fairgrounds at designated locations.
Our specific AG IN THE COMMUNITY GOALS were to:
- Address the need for educational programming for the “two faces” of Clermont County (urban/rural interface)
- Educate the public about agriculture and the community
- Inform Clermont County, Ohio residents of the services offered through Ohio State University Extension
- Gain contact information from individuals interested in learning more about Extension programming
- Utilize blog and QR code technologies to measure reach and impact of the Ag in the Community posters
There were approximately 65,000 people who attended the 2016 Clermont County Fair who could have viewed the educational materials. We know that 376 fair-goers viewed the posters via the QR code. Results from the 2017 Ag in the Community posters are pending.
Our Ag in the Community posters have enabled us to better educate the public on types of agriculture and community development issues and opportunities in Clermont County and gather contact data for our newsletter and blog page as well as to determine if a participant knows about Extension or has ever used Extension services.
Results indicate that audiences in Clermont County were interested in learning more about agriculture and the community. Most have attended educational programs and want to learn more about the work we do. This effort has aided in bringing the OSU Extension Clermont County blog site to nearly 1200 subscribers.
Through the Agriculture in the Community poster program, we were able to collaborate in educating the public on agriculture and their community. Reach out to other Extension program staff in your office today to collaborate in this one simple way.
Trevor Corboy is a Program Coordinator in Clermont County & Miami Valley EERA.
Leadership! It is a basic fundamental need for any organization to perform at its best. And whether you want to learn more about public service or have thought about becoming more involved in your community, participating in a formal leadership development program may be helpful.
After a very engaging and successful Ohio Local Foods week in August, there was a variety of interest expressed in pursuing a center for small business owners to collaborate within Clermont County. As envisioned, this center would incorporate an incubator kitchen for cottage foods producers and other locally sourced value-added products to supply a wide variety of market sectors within the agriculture industry of Clermont County. A preliminary working group has been established to facilitate the process. Over the coming weeks the group will research facilities and design after which a larger group of producers and supporters will be convened to expand upon the foundation work and decide on the next steps in this venture.
Leadership! It is a basic fundamental need for any organization to perform as a well-balanced machine. We have learned from an earlier developed plan of work that addressing the needs of county elected officials is a necessity. Many of the public officials I met with during the first few months in my position confirmed this need. They have asked for education in leadership development, conducting effective meetings, communicating more effectively, and other key areas. Based upon these conversations, the 
Through early discussions with townships and villages, many officials and community members have expressed an interest in strategic planning and goal setting for their communities. This has added to the growing excitement of expansion and redevelopment of infrastructure throughout Clermont County, and community-based projects of this nature are currently being planned.
In our ever-changing world, we want the freshest product available with the most economic value. Often, the solution is to meet local producers and buy directly from them. This helps the consumer to not only enjoy local food, but also learn of the economic, nutritional, and social benefits of buying local. Freshness is one of the benefits of Local Foods adding to the experience of the personal connection between growers and producers. According to the 2012 USDA Agricultural Census, Ohio ranks among the top ten states for direct sales to consumers represented by a wide variety of food products. Two resources available in Ohio to aid in the challenge of linking the producer and consumer are: 
Many people are searching for ways to improve their quality of life by eating local food. Consumers now wish to become the producer, not only in the produce sector, but in animal agriculture. This enables the consumer to gain an intimate knowledge of the food source in a hands-on environment. From this there has been an up-turn in economic development strategies to market locally produced foods. Interest groups in many communities aim to increase the accessibility to items for both wholesale and retail customers. These groups are sometimes lacking one essential component… research-based information. OSU Extension is in a position to educate these individuals in raising and growing their own food, as well as in harvesting and storing their food products. This is an excellent opportunity for cross-program collaboration within our system.
The LOOK to Clermont program is a series of classroom and practical learning experiences. Here high school students from throughout the county meet monthly to develop and enhance leadership skills while increasing awareness of critical issues within Clermont County. Embedded in this program is a course where students receive college credit through the College Credit Plus program. Juniors receive credit from the University of Cincinnati – Clermont College, while seniors receive credit from The Ohio State University for the COMLDR 3530: Foundations of Personal and Professional Leadership course in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
Not only does the LOOK to Clermont program facilitate community development through partnerships with other organizations and local citizens, it unites the Extension program areas in collaboration. Each monthly class has a theme, such as teambuilding, history and agriculture, civic engagement, education, personal finance, safety and justice, community development, or envisioning the future. Depending on the theme for the particular day, the county educators work closely to utilize their personal networks to engage the students in a learning experience that will best benefit them while giving exposure to the individual or group within the county that may be hosting or presenting the class. This allows a Community Development rooted program to nurture the countywide network through Family and Consumer Sciences, 4-H Youth Development, and Agriculture and Natural Resources. Further, the students gain knowledge in a wide array of topics relevant to Clermont County in a short period of time.
Earlier this month the LOOK to Clermont program held the history and agriculture day. The students met at the Extension office where they discussed the rich history of agriculture in Clermont County with the Agriculture and Natural Resources educator, Gigi Neal. Next, the group toured the county with stops including: Carney’s Feed Mill, Grant’s Farm and Greenhouse, Cornwell Farms, and Shaw Farms. Along the way the students were able to learn about a historic family-based feed milling business, a grain farm and greenhouse in full production, water quality and its importance through a Conservation Innovation Grant Basin and reduction in nutrient run-off.