Month: August 2017

Grass-Fed Livestock Farm Tour is Tuesday

Grassroots Farm & Foods in Hillsboro hosts the Grass-Fed Livestock Farm Tour starting at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 22. The 380-acre farm raises Red Devon cattle, Katahdin lambs, Cornish Cross chickens and Berkshire pigs. The owners “lease sub-parcels of their land to independent dairy producers and are seeking to transition the farm to someone who will assume business ownership in steps,” the event description says. Tour guests will learn about grass-fed beef, pastured poultry, the farm’s wetland mitigation efforts and more.

Preregistration by emailing eric@oeffa.org is required.

Part of the ongoing Ohio Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series. CFAES’s Sustainable Agriculture Team is a co-presenter of the series.

Algal blooms cost Ohio homeowners $152 million over six years

Algal blooms in Ohio’s Buckeye Lake and Grand Lake St. Marys cost homeowners $152 million in lost property value from 2009 to 2015, said a new study by CFAES researchers, as reported in a press release by Ohio State’s University Communications office.

A related study, also reported in the same press release, said fishing license sales along Lake Erie drop at least 10 percent every time an algal bloom there reaches a moderate level of health risk, equal to up to $5.6 million in lost fishing revenue and related spending in the case of a severe, summer-long bloom. (Photo: Lake Erie algal bloom, Frank Lichtkoppler, Ohio Sea Grant, via Flickr.)

2016 was the hottest year on record; federal climate change panel gets the ax

The Trump administration is disbanding the federal advisory panel for the National Climate Assessment, according to a story in yesterday’s Washington Post. The 15-person panel helps private- and public-sector officials incorporate the assessment’s findings into long-term planning. The science-based assessment reports on the climate’s status, changes that have been seen and anticipated trends for the future.

A draft report of the next assessment, due for release in 2018, says “evidence for a changing climate abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported on Aug. 10 that 2016 was Earth’s hottest year on record. (Image: iStock.)

Learn how (and why) to test your soil

CFAES is co-sponsoring a Soil Health Testing Demonstration Field Day on Aug. 31 in Bowling Green. The event will help you understand soil test measurements and how they can help you maintain healthy soil, your farm’s production and profitability, while also protecting water quality. Admission is free. Learn more.

Tour will look at ways you can grow a lot of good food in your yard

The Productive Residential Urban Farm Tour goes from 2 to 4 p.m. this Sunday, Aug. 20, at Over the Fence Urban Farm, 143 E. Dominion Blvd., in Columbus. The farm is “dedicated to experimenting with, mastering and sharing techniques for growing food that promote self-reliance and sustainability,” says the tour description. Its practices, which “support the consumption of more fresh, locally harvested, delicious food,” include vertical gardening, season extension and permaculture. Free admission. Find out more.

The tour is part of the Ohio Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series. CFAES’s Sustainable Agriculture Team is a co-presenter of the series and is the specific presenter of this tour. Download the series brochure.

Aug. 20 Farmers’ Table to feature Food Network’s Chris Hodgson

Northeast Ohio’s Maplestar Farm hosts the Farmers’ Table from 4 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 20 at 10382 E. Washington St., in Auburn Township.

The event, its website says, will celebrate “Ohio farms and summer flavors.” It features tours of the farm’s organic fields, local craft beer and wine, “fresh-from-the-field appetizers,” and a three-course meal prepared by celebrity chef and Food Network star Chris Hodgson.

Tickets are $120 per person. Proceeds will benefit the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association and the Two Foundation.

The event is part of the ongoing Ohio Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series. CFAES’s Sustainable Agriculture Team is a series co-presenter. Download the series brochure.

How small-, medium-sized farms can diversify for greater success

CFAES holds its 2017 Agricultural Diversification Research Tour from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. this Thursday, Aug. 17, at OARDC’s Mellinger Research Farm, 6885 W. Old Lincoln Way, in Wooster. The focus is on how small- and medium-sized farms can widen their product range and increase their profitability without having to get bigger in size. Free. Learn more. OARDC is CFAES’s research arm.

Last 2 appearances by eco farming pop-up tour

The Growing Right Oral History Project’s Central Ohio Pop-Up Tour makes its last two appearances this week: from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 16, at the Franklin Park Conservatory Farmers’ Market in Columbus and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Aug. 19 at the North Market Farmers’ Market in Columbus.

The tour, which features the history of ecological farming in Ohio, is part of the Ohio Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series. CFAES’s Sustainable Agriculture Team is one of the series’ co-presenters. Download the series brochure.