Half our bees are not to be, due to some mysterious injury

Ohio lost nearly half of its honey bee population last year, according to a recent survey quoted in a June 26 Cleveland Plain Dealer story. Written by James F. McCarty, the story also quotes CFAES scientist Reed Johnson and retired CFAES scientist Jim Tew, both experts on honey bees. Honey bees pollinate about a third of the crops we grow for food. (Photo: iStock).Bee populations down

See what makes this GreenSpot green

Columbia Gas of Ohio HQ_2See two kinds of green at July 15’s Environmental Professionals Network breakfast program: The new LEED-certified Columbia Gas and NiSource Gas Distribution headquarters building in downtown Columbus, shown here, which is part of the city’s GreenSpot sustainability initiative; and, while looking down from that spot, the Columbus Clippers’ ballpark. Details and a link to sign up to be there. (Photo: Cleveland Construction, Inc.)

Dairy herd health: Sustainable Farm Tour Series

dv455010The Ohio Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series holds a Dairy Herd Health Workshop on June 29 at Othmary Farms in Maria Stein in western Ohio. Gustavo Schuenemann, DVM, veterinarian with CFAES’s outreach arm, OSU Extension, will lead the program. Othmary Farms is a family-owned certified organic dairy farm. Find details here on p. 22. (Photo: Photodisc.)

Le Foll: 3 wins through ‘climate-smart agriculture’

French Agriculture Minister Stéphane Le Foll, who talks about how agriculture can cut carbon emissions this Saturday at Ohio State, spoke at the Climate-Smart Agriculture Conference in March in France. The website French Food in the US gives a good rundown. Climate-smart agriculture, the conference’s website said, is based on three conditions: a “triple win” of food security, adaptation and mitigation. Know French? You can watch Le Foll’s conference talk here.

Le Foll: Adapt food production, don’t cut it, to help fight carbon

A 2014 EurActiv article called “France backs agroecology to fight climate change” quotes French Agriculture Minister Stéphane Le Foll:

“The agricultural sector has a responsibility to reduce its emissions, but it can also offer solutions for greenhouse gas reduction.

“This is about considering the ecological challenge of the fight against climate change, the challenge to food production and the challenges of agriculture and forestry as one entity.

“The answer to the big environmental questions is not to reduce agricultural production, but to adapt.”

He speaks on his country’s carbon sequestration work this Saturday at Ohio State.

French agriculture minister to speak June 27 at Ohio State

Stéphane_Le_Foll_(2014)CFAES’s Carbon Management and Sequestration Center hosts a free public talk by French Agriculture Minister Stéphane Le Foll, pictured, called “Research on Carbon Sequestration in Soils: A Priority for France,” at 11:30 a.m. this Saturday, June 27, in 333 Kottman Hall on Ohio State’s Columbus campus. CFAES Dean Bruce McPheron will give welcoming remarks. The event flier says, “The theme of ‘carbon sequestration’ is extremely pertinent to addressing climate change and is the focus of the forthcoming COP21 meeting to be held in Paris in December.” COP21 is the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference. (Photo: StagiaireMGIMO (own work) licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.)

Successful urban farming systems: Sustainable Farm Tour Series

Successful urban farmingBusy day: Also on June 28 in the Ohio Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series is Production Systems for Successful Urban Farming, a workshop in Dayton led by Mike Hass, an experienced farmer and the Findlay Market’s farm manager. He’ll compare and contrast different bed and production systems and share ideas for inexpensive postharvest handling setups. Find details here on pp. 20-21.

Running an urban flower farm: Sustainable Farm Tour Series

Next in the 2015 Ohio Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series is a June 28 open house at Sunny Meadows Flower Farm in Columbus. The 7-acre urban operation grows and sells mixed cut flowers for farmers markets, grocery stores, weddings and more, including its own new farm stand. Click here and scroll to p. 18 for details.Growing flowers