Month: September 2013

CFAES emphasizing water quality, implications for farming, society

dean mcpheron at FSR for GB

CFAES Dean Bruce McPheron sees the glass as half full. But he’s also concerned about the quality of the water in that glass. Speaking at Ohio State’s annual Farm Science Review agricultural show last week in London, Ohio, McPheron (pictured, right, at the event) said water quality research will be one of the priorities of the college he began leading just last year. “Water is really a global issue,” he said. “It’s part of the conversation everywhere in the world.” Read the story. (Photo: K.D. Chamberlain.)

New undergraduate minor in sustainability now available at Ohio State

college student for GBOhio State undergraduate students can now complement their major program of study with a focus on sustainability through enrollment in the new Ohio State minor in Environment, Economy, Development and Sustainability (EEDS).

The EEDS minor offers students a multidisciplinary program that focuses on the human, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability — often referred to as people, planet and profit.

Through enrollment in the EEDS minor, students learn sustainability concepts to complement their work in their major program of study. The EEDS minor curriculum is comprised of core courses from the EEDS major and includes a range of courses that can be selected by students to count toward the minor degree. These courses are designed to provide a foundation in sustainability concepts and theory related to economics, business, sociology, and community and international development. Fifteen semester hours are required for the minor.

EEDS is a joint program between Ohio State’s School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR) and the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics (AEDE). Students enrolled in the minor take classes with faculty working in both areas. The school and the department are both part of CFAES.

“Sustainability is a critical operational and strategic matter for nearly all businesses, governments and social enterprises. No matter what major or career path a student has chosen, his or her ability to compete in the job market will be enhanced by a basic knowledge of sustainability — the EEDS minor is designed to provide that knowledge” noted Neil Drobny, EEDS program director.

Students interested in enrolling in the EEDS minor should contact Dr. Drobny at drobny.3@osu.edu or 614-268-6100.

The announcement of the EEDS minor follows the very successful launch of the EEDS major at Ohio State during the Autumn 2012 semester. The EEDS major is one of the fastest-growing undergraduate majors at Ohio State.

State agency directors to speak Oct. 1 on nutrient runoff, water quality

Water quality, which is a focus of our college, is also the focus of the next monthly Environmental Professionals Network breakfast program. CFAES Dean Bruce McPheron will moderate a panel discussion featuring the directors of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, and Ohio Department of Natural Resources — David Daniels, Scott Nally, and Jim Zehringer, respectively — who will speak on Ohio’s programs and policies to control nutrient runoff and protect and improve water quality. It’s Oct. 1 in Columbus. The deadline to sign up is Sept. 27. Get details here (pdf). Register and pay online here.

CFAES’s Lal, world expert on sustainable land management, named UN Global Dryland Champion

oardc wooster ar02 rattan lal carbon sequestration fieldCFAES’s Rattan Lal, pictured, has been chosen as one of the first Global Dryland Champions by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification. The honor, according to a letter by Luc Gnacadja of Benin, the convention’s executive secretary, recognizes “those who have made outstanding contributions to our efforts for achieving a land-degradation-neutral world.”

Lal is a Distinguished University Professor in CFAES’s School of Environment and Natural Resources, directs the school’s Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, and is an international expert on agricultural sustainability and climate change.

His expertise and leadership in sustainable land management, Gnacadja’s letter says, “has unquestionably helped increase the attention given to desertification, land degradation, and drought problems in drylands and its related major global challenges.”

He will be recognized at a dinner hosted by the Namibian government during the 11th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD in Windhoek, Namibia, Sept. 23.

There’s a previous post about him here that includes a link to a nice video interview (2:14).

Also tonight: How to grow hops in Ohio

beer mugCFAES will hold a Hops Production Field Day (OK, an evening) from 6-8 p.m. today. Admission is $5 at the door at Horticulture Research Unit 2, 5082 Oil City Road in Wooster. The unit is part of CFAES’s research arm, OARDC. Get details in the event flier here (pdf). Hops are used to make beer, and you can grow them sustainably (pdf) in our region. (Photo: USDA.)

Organic farming field day this evening

field day flierIf you’re interested in organic farming, set a course later today for Bowling Green. CFAES’s Organic and Sustainable Agriculture Field Day (pdf) goes from 5-8 p.m. at the John Hirzel Sustainable Agriculture Farming Systems Research Site. It’s free and open to the public. The site is managed by our Organic Food and Farming Education and Research program.

Go, Buck-buck-bucks! Second organic poultry walk added

In further small-scale chicken-related news, CFAES’s research arm, OARDC, will host a second Organic Poultry Pasture Walk at its East Badger Organic Research Farm, 7250 Ely Road just north of Apple Creek, from 10 a.m. to noon on Sept. 21.

The first walk “featured the new birds just being placed in the chicken mobile units on red clover,” says the event’s press release. The second walk “will be a time to see how the broilers have grown and the differences in the growth rates between commercial broilers and red broiler breeds.” Also among the topics: Alternative organic poultry diets and managing broilers in mobile units.

Call 330-263-3735 or email anderson.37@osu.edu to learn more.

Peeling (Ohio-grown) rubber

OSU Wooster Campus CFAES, OARDC, OSUE Chancellor John Carey OSU Interm President Joe AluttoThe Wooster campus of CFAES’s research arm, OARDC, today hosted a visit by Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor John Carey. Here, Carey, left, Ohio State University Interim President Joseph Alutto, center, and Ohio Rep. Ron Amstutz (1st District), with CFAES Dean Bruce McPheron in the background, examine rubber made from Russian dandelions. CFAES’s Katrina Cornish and colleagues are developing Russian dandelions as an alternative, sustainable, Ohio-grown source of rubber (video, 2:22). (K.D. Chamberlain image.)