The Ohio Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series continues tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 20, with the Grape Production and Winery Tour at Slate Run Vineyard in Canal Winchester near Columbus. The vineyard grows 60 grape varieties on 4 acres. Plus it locally sources apples. Yield? Some 17 unique proprietary wines. Sample the details here on p. 27.
Month: September 2016
Farm sustainability review
A reminder that CFAES’s big Farm Science Review kicks off tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 20. It goes through Thursday, Sept. 22. Of note are a number of talks related to sustainable agriculture and conservation in the Small Farm Center and Gwynne Conservation Area.
Century farm holds open house
Carriage House Farm in North Bend near Cincinnati holds a free open house this Sunday, Sept. 18, from noon to 4 p.m. as part of the Ohio Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series. The farm is a diversified Ohio Century Farm that was started in 1855. It produces grains, fresh produce, herbs and honey, which it sells locally through restaurants, retailers, farmers markets and its own on-farm market. Learn more here on p. 16.
Learn latest on soil balancing, see on-farm research
Crumrine Farms in Nova in northern Ohio hosts the On-Farm Research Farm Tour this Friday, Sept. 16, at 1 p.m., as part of the Ohio Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series. The tour’s focus: Long-term sustainability of the soil. The long-time family operation grows certified organic corn, hay, straw and more. And it’s cooperating with CFAES’s Organic Food and Farming Education and Research program on on-farm research on soil balancing. Learn more here on pp. 13-14.
Class on getting started in fish farming
Want to be a fish farmer? CFAES’s Ohio Center for Aquaculture Research and Development has 30 slots open in its Aquaculture Boot Camp-2, a yearlong program for first-timers and beginners. It offers an in-depth introduction to aquaculture, aquaponics and the business of fish farming. Participation is free, but you have to apply and be chosen. The center is at CFAES’s OSU South Centers in Piketon in southeast Ohio. Net further details.
One-stop local, sustainable fish and veggies
“There’s a noticeable trend throughout agriculture for local, sustainable produce and fish,” says CFAES aquaculture specialist Matthew Smith. “This lets consumers know exactly where their food is coming from.” The “this,” in this case, is aquaponics. He’ll talk about how it works at CFAES’s Farm Science Review next week. (Photo: Tilapia via Pixabay.)
Less green, more yellow (perch) this summer in Lake Erie
Charter captain Dave Spangler can see clearly now through a sample of Lake Erie water. And that’s good news for the lake, the fish that live there and his clients who try to catch them. Daniel Carson of the Fremont News-Messenger has the story, which includes Spangler’s shoutout to northwest Ohio farmers for their algal-bloom-fighting nutrient management efforts. (Image: Yellow perch by Dorling Kindersley via ThinkStock.)
Big new ideas for Ohio’s small farms
“We have farmers of very large operations come to these presentations. People are looking for ways to increase profitability no matter their size or scale.” So says CFAES’s Mike Hogan, organizer of the Small Farm Center and its more than two dozen sessions set for next week’s Farm Science Review trade show. Learn more and see the center’s schedule of talks.
Friday: How to see and grow your farm ‘as part of a complex living system’
The Ohio Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series continues this Friday, Sept. 9, from 2 to 4 p.m. with the Lessons Learned, Understanding Gained Farm Tour. It’s at Farm 153 in Jefferson in far northeast Ohio. Owners Tim and Barb Loya, the event description says, “see their soil, air, water and plants as part of a complex living system that they build up according to organic methods.” Attendees “will walk away with a list of resources, materials, practices to avoid and practices to embrace.” Details here on p. 32.
Past, future of historic Ohio State building on Lake Erie
The Toledo Blade’s Tom Henry gives an inside look at steeped-in-history Cooke Castle, shown here, which is at Ohio State’s steeped-in-science Stone Lab near Put-in-Bay on Lake Erie. (Fun fact: In the early ’80s, I lived in the building during parts of two summers when the lab was still using it as a dorm.) (Photo by Analogue Kid licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.)