Audience: Traditional Farmer

2025 Urban Agriculture Critical Infrastructure Grant Applications are OPEN!

The Franklin County Urban Agriculture Critical Infrastructure grant opened on January 3rd, 2025 and will close January 31st, 2025 at 11:59PM, with grant awards in mid February. The application can be accessed HERE.

Please read all grant resources and info below before submitting your application. Incomplete applications or applications that do not follow directions will not be considered for funding.

Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District is excited to announce another year of the Franklin County Urban Agriculture Critical Infrastructure Grant in partnership with Franklin County Economic Development and Planning! This grant makes $285,000 of federal ARPA funding available to local growers. Each individual organization may apply for up to $15,000 of grant funding or up to $20,000 for water line installation. This grant seeks to strengthen the local food supply chain and support local farmers and is available to both for-profit and non-profit farms, including community gardens and other types of growing operations. Growing operations 5 acres or less are eligible to apply, with additional consideration given to operations under 1 acre. Eligible uses of this grant include infrastructure that helps local farms and community gardens scale up their production and distribution, with examples including but not limited to high tunnels, water service, cold/dry storage, and market stands.

FSWCD would like to thank Franklin County Board of Commissioners, City of Columbus, Franklin Park Conservatory, OSU Extension, Osteopathic Heritage Foundation, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Columbus & Franklin County Local Food Board for their partnership throughout the planning process. This grant was financially assisted by the Franklin County Board of Commissioners and builds on and contributes to the ongoing efforts to implement the Columbus & Franklin County Local Food Action Plan.

Visit the grant page at the Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation District website to learn more.

Columbus Expands Composting Program

Food Waste Drop-Off Pilot Program

Nearly 1 million pounds of food waste goes to the Franklin County landfill every single day.

Food waste in the landfill generates potent methane gas — a powerful greenhouse gas that is a major contributor to climate change. Waste diversion is the most efficient way to reduce the amount of emissions generated by landfills, and to reduce demand for landfill space.

Reducing organic waste, specifically food waste, from entering the landfill is a major goal of the Columbus Climate Action Plan. The plan sets ambitious goas to achieve a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.

To help reach these goals and make it convenient for residents to compost food scraps, the city is launching a Food Waste Drop-Off Pilot Program with the help of a Community Waste Reduction Grant from the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio (SWACO).

As an avid composter I applaud the City of Columbus!  Click HERE to learn more about this program.

 

The food scraps drop-off collection sites for Columbus residents’ use are located at:

  • Bill McDonald Athletic Complex, 4990 Olentangy River Rd., 43214
  • Dodge Park and Community Center, 667 Sullivant Ave., 43215
  • Scioto Southland Park, 3901 Parsons Ave., 43207
  • Beatty Park Community Recreation Center, 247 N. Ohio Ave., 43203
  • Northeast Park and Howard Recreation Center, 2505 Cassady Ave., 43219
  • Linden Park Community Center,  1350 Briarwood Ave., 43211
  • Carriage Place Park Community Center, 4900 Sawmill Rd., 43235

Farm Resource Class Series from OSU Extension – How to Lose Less on the Farm

My OSU Extension colleagues will be hosting both an online and in-person series of classes titled How to Lose Less on the Farm. The five part class series stretches from December to February and includes topics such as budgets, record keeping, alternative crops, taxes, and more. There is no charge for the class but they do ask for registration for planning and require registration if you wish to attend online.

 

CLICK this LINK to register.  The online link will be sent shortly before the class.

For questions please contact the Madison County Extension Office at 740-852-0744

Home Hydroponics Class at the Urban Farm Church on Wednesday November 13th, 2024 at 6pm

Home Hydroponics is one of the most popular classes I get asked to teach.  I get lots of questions from clients on this topic including what can I grow, what kind of lights do I need, how does this system work.  It can be a little bewildering but the benefits are amazing!  All this will be addressed at The Urban Farm Church on 11/13 at 6pm.  This class is free and open to the public but does require registration (so they know how many snacks to make!) so bring your friends and your questions!  If the weather is nice we can do a little garden walk too!

Table top unit growing eight heads of lettuce in less than a month!

CLICK HERE to Register

You can learn more about The Urban Farm Church HERE plus find directions to the class (lots of free parking!) HERE

Making Food at Home to Sell: Virtual Q & A Sessions

My colleagues at OSU Extension are hosting a series of virtual Q and A Sessions on the topic: Making Food at Home to sell.  This is a topic of interest to many urban farmers and is sure to provide a wealth of knowledge.  The series is free but does require registration. The registration link is below.

Here are the topics and dates/times:

Register here: go.osu.edu/virtualQA24

Each virtual Q&A session will begin with a 5–10-minute presentation.

You do not need to come prepared with questions. Feel free to drop in to listen!

*Please note that these virtual Q&As solely pertain to foods approved to be made at home (in Ohio) with the intention to sell them (e.g., cottage foods and home bakery products).

Gardening for Conservation Webinar Series with The Nature Conservancy

I will be partnering with The Nature Conservancy for the third consecutive year for some gardening education and outreach.  We have expanded the webinar series to SIX topics of interest.  All are free and open to the public, but do require registration to get the link, so bring your friends and your questions!  I will be talking about ticks, growing your own food, and composting with both my OSU colleagues and TNC friends co-hosting! Registration links are below. 

 

 

CLICK HERE for the event page with more information plus registration or register for the individual classes below!

Registration Link for 4/24

Registration Link for 5/22

Registration Link for 6/26

Registration Link for 7/24

Registration Link for 8/28

Registration Link for 9/25

 

You can also click on the QR to register as well!

Hope to see you there!

Small Farm Conference in Guernsey Co. on April 6th, 2024

It may be a bit of a drive from Franklin Co. but there will be a ton of useful information for small farmers, or those who are looking to start a small farm.

OSU Extension will host the Eastern Ohio Small Farm Conference on April 6, 2024, at the Mid-East Career Technical Center Buffalo Campus, in Senecaville, Ohio! This is an incredible opportunity to hear from a vast selection of producers, professionals, and peers all in one place and just a short drive away.

Conference session topics are geared to beginning and small farm owners as well as to farms looking to diversify their operations. There will be five different conference tracks including: Horticulture and Produce Production, Business Management, Livestock, Natural Resources and new this year- The Farm Kitchen.

Some conference topic highlights include:

  • Raising Meat Rabbits (Kim Ray)
  • Making Goat Milk Products (Radisson Norman & Kirstin Roman)
  • Pastured Poultry (Jessie & Tyler Radcliff)
  • Livestock Handling (Mid-East CTC Students, Garth Ruff, & Brady Campbell)
  • Timber Harvesting and Marketing (Jake Peer)
  • Invasive Species (Carrie Brown)
  • Basics of Growing Paw Paws (Valerie Libbey)
  • Food Preservation Basics (Emily Marrison)
  • Herb Vinegars (Kate Shumaker)
  • Organic Pest Management (Logan Minter)
  • Growing Produce with Hydroponics (Tim McDermott)
  • Starting and Setting Up a Business (David Marrison)
  • Ohio Landowner/Hunter Access Partnership Program (John Morton)
  • Introduction to Bramble Production (Ryan Slaughter)
  • Products from the Hive (Joan Leary)
  • And SO MUCH MORE!

Anyone interested in developing, growing, or diversifying their small farm is invited to attend including homesteaders, gardeners, farmers market vendors, and anyone with a general interest in small farm living.

Attendees will have the opportunity to browse a trade show featuring the newest and most innovative ideas and services for their farming operation. The conference provides an opportunity to talk with the vendors and network with others.

The Conference will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 6, 2024 at the Mid-East Career Technical Center Buffalo Campus (57090 Vocational Rd. Senecaville, Ohio 43780). Registration to attend is $100 and includes light breakfast and catered lunch by Hog Hollow BBQ, due by March 28, 2024.

For conference and registration information call OSU Extension Morrow County 419-947-1070 or OSU Extension Knox County 740-397-0401.  You can also register for the conference online at: https://go.osu.edu/2024osusmallfarmconference

 

I will be speaking on hydroponics! I hope to see you there!

 

 

 

 

 

2024 Beginning Farmer Series

Are you a beginning farmer trying to nail down all the resources and information you need to be successful? This series is designed to introduce you to some of the most important topics and resources of which a farm should be aware. OSU Extension, USDA and Farm Credit staff will present critical information on each of these topics allowing attendees to build relationships with these critical partners.

 

This series of events is free and open to the public but we do ask for pre-registration for planning purposes.  You can click the QR in the flyer or THIS LINK to register.

Click here to view, print, or download the flyer –> 2024 Beginning Farmer Series

Urban Agriculture Critical Infrastructure Grant RFP Due Soon! Apply by February 1st!

I want to remind everyone that the newly established Franklin County Urban Agriculture Critical Infrastructure grant is accepting applications until February 1st!

To apply for the grant or to get more information (e.g. application questions, scoring criteria, and eligibility requirements), please visit Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District’s website. Additionally, Franklin Soil & Water Conservation District posted the Grant Info Session recording on YouTube!

This grant aims to address a significant funding gap that small growers face when looking to scale up their operations. The current City-County Community Garden Grant continues to be very successful in its purpose, however, the total request amount for this existing grant is capped at $3,000 per applicant and it is only available for nonprofits – so another source of support is needed for local growers who have outgrown the Community Garden Grant and want to scale up their operations. Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District will also provide technical assistance, education, and key third party connections to grantees while ensuring equitable support for socially disadvantaged growers, including BIPOC growers, women growers, and low income growers.

 

 

CLICK HERE to learn more about the grant.