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Urban Ag Field Day

| Nanette Neal

Are you new to Urban Agriculture, or have you been growing for years? No matter your experience, join members of the Urban Ag team for a variety of crop management topics aimed to help your Urban Ag farm operate more efficiently and profitably. The field day will be held at the NECIC site, which features several types of actively farmed high tunnels and raised bed systems on-site. Learn about strawberry production, modernizing your irrigation system, and the benefits of row covers. Each presentation will be 15-20 minutes long with time for questions at the end. Bring your production challenges, and we’ll discuss how to solve them.

-Registration IS required for this event by June 20. Please use this link or QR code to the right: https://go.osu.edu/necic25
-There is NO registration fee to attend this event.

DATE: June 25, 2025
TIME: 4:00–6:00 p.m.
LOCATION: North End Community Improvement Collaboration, 311 Bowman Street, Mansfield, OH

FLYER

EVENT SPONSORS:

  • OSU IPM Program
  • OSU Urban Ag Team
  • OSU CFAES
  • Immediate Needs Grant
  • USDA NIFA 20247000643574
  • USDA FSA
  • FSA23CPT0012850

Getting Started with Goats | All About Goats! 2024 Spring Webinar Recording Release

| jagger.6

Interested in raising goats? Want to get started and don’t know how? Watch our Ohio State University Extension experts break down the ins and outs of Getting Started with Goats. During this video, our experts will walk you through how to define your operational goals and then give you the tips and tricks you need to accomplish those goals. They will share information on breeding, feeding, and housing your goats as well as an introduction to having a pasture and the uses of goat milk. This video also provides insight and education that can be useful for those taking or raising goats for exhibition.

Interested in learning more? Want to join us live? We will have our All About Goats! 2025 Fall webinar series starting in September. Subscribe to sheep.osu.edu and stay tuned!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThGWT6-zLhI

Getting Started with Value-Added Products for Profitability

| jagger.6

Offered by PennState Extension

Discover how to launch a profitable value-added food business with expert tips on product development, marketing, packaging, and sales—perfect for farm and food entrepreneurs.

Learn how to turn a great idea into a successful value-added food product in this informative session designed for aspiring food entrepreneurs. Participants will gain practical insight into launching a profitable value-added business, from product development and packaging to marketing, distribution, and sales within the competitive food industry. Whether you’re just starting out or refining an existing concept, this session offers essential tools to help you navigate the path from concept to market.

Register By: July 22, 2025
This event is free of charge.

Who is this for?

  • Farm owners and managers
  • Farm market and agritourism owners and managers
  • Farm and food business owners and managers
  • Value-added food producers

What will you learn?

  • Identify steps for launching a profitable value-added food business
  • Incorporate strategies for product development
  • Apply effective marketing approaches
  • Understand packaging considerations
  • Plan for distribution
  • Strengthen sales efforts
This event is being offered at no charge to participants. 

Registration is required to receive the link to access the webinar.

A link to the recorded webinar will be emailed to registrants within ten business days after the live event. The recording will be accessible for six months from the event date.

Learn More

Name That Tree – ID Class

| jagger.6

Interested in strengthening your tree ID skills?  Join Ohio State’s Erik Draper and Kathy Smith for our Name That Tree class.  The class will take place June 20th at The Ohio State University Mansfield Campus.  The class will work with samples and go outside to do some hands on identification.  Class includes lunch and materials for the day.

Registration is open and can be accessed here.  Space is limited so register early.

Ohio State Maple Boot Camp – Registration is OPEN!

| jagger.6

We are excited to announce that registration is live for Boot Camp, July 17-19th.  This year, we are basing out of northeast Ohio and utilizing Lake Metroparks Farmpark as headquarters.  Boot Camp is a 3-day workshop that starts at 12:15 on Thursday, July 17th, and goes through 3 PM Saturday July 19th.  Starting the first day we will learn how to assess a potential sugarbush, then build sequentially through all phases of maple syrup production from sap collection to boiling, bottling, and sales.  Participants will gain the skills necessary for the safe, efficient, and profitable production of maple products.

Classroom sessions will be held at Farmpark with at least 5 tours of local maple producers in the area.  We are excited to not only include so many field trip opportunities this year, but we will also have an evening of value-added maple products demonstration and tasting.  A maple syrup quality and grading session is another new addition to Boot Camp that we’re excited about.

Check out the website for more details and get your spot before they are all gone – space is limited!

Log in Friday’s Escape to the Forest – On the Brink: Early Detection of Woodland Invasive Plant Species

| jagger.6
Authors: Amy Stone, Kathy Smith, Carrie Brown
Program Flyer, Escape to the Forest, June 27, 2025

 

Register now for the upcoming Friday’s Escape to the Forest – On The Brink: Early Detection of Woodland Invasive Plant Species, on Friday, June 27, 2025 from 10 am – 12 pm. This virtual program is part of the Ohio Woodland Stewards Program, and is free to register and attend.

 

Most woodland owners are already familiar with the dreaded “usual suspects,” such as garlic mustard, bush honeysuckle, and autumn olive. Have you considered what invasive plants might be next on the horizon? Join AgNR Educator, Carrie Brown, as we explore plant species that are not yet state listed but are exhibiting invasive characteristics.

 

To register, click on the link below:

https://osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_H_JAYQ2lTXmoVDELwS6sEw#/registration

 

Small Ruminant 509 Course

| jagger.6

Author: Kayla Scott, Graduate Research Associate, Department of Animal Sciences

Hosted by the departments of Animal Sciences and Extension at The Ohio State University, we are pleased to announce the offering of the Small Ruminant 509 program held in the Animal Sciences Building on the Columbus campus on June 13-14, 2025. Programs such as Beef and Pork 509 have shown success with bridging gaps in producer understandings of live animal production as it relates to carcass outcomes and overall meat quality. Up to this point, small ruminant producers in the state have had limited opportunities to participate in a program as such. The overall aim of this Extension program is to provide statewide education to sheep and goat producers looking to further their knowledge of live animal evaluation and selection, meat processing, meat quality, and the economics of marketing small ruminants, in a real-world, hands-on learning environment.

To showcase the versatility and variability of small ruminant production in Ohio, a number of different breeds and types of small ruminant animals will be utilized in this program. During the two-day event, participants will have the opportunity to evaluate animals on the hoof, with fleeces on and off, as well as evaluate animals in a live auction format, to estimate potential meat yield. Those estimates will then be matched with what the carcasses yield after harvest, by evaluating carcass characteristics in addition to cutability tests. Participants will also test their butchery skills by learning and understanding how to properly break down a carcass. Lastly, participants will be able to test their skills of preparation and cookery of different small ruminant products, by grilling and smoking different cuts of meat, to see the impacts that the method of preparation has on palatability. Registration can be found at go.osu.edu/SR509. For those that have questions about the event, feel free to contact Dr. Brady Campbell at campbell.1279@osu.edu.