The state of Ohio farming? Opinions wanted

If you’re one of the 3,000 randomly chosen Ohio farmers who receive the Ohio Farm Poll survey in February, sent by researchers from CFAES, here’s what it’s about and how you can help by filling it out, if you have time.

Doug Jackson-Smith, a co-developer of the survey, said that once compiled, the findings will give local, Ohio, and Washington, D.C., policymakers “a good grounding in the realities farmers face.”

What’s new in harmful algal bloom science

Chris Winslow, pictured, director of Ohio State’s Ohio Sea Grant program and Stone Laboratory, will give a free public webinar called Harmful Algal Blooms: The Latest Science, featuring new and recent research on Lake Erie’s (generally) green seasonal slime, from 1–2:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31.

Find details and the link to watch. (Photo: Ohio Sea Grant.)

The problem with Great Lakes plastic pollution

Jill Bartolotta, pictured, Extension educator with Ohio State’s Ohio Sea Grant program, discusses “The Problem With Plastic Pollution” from 6–7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 29, at Cuyahoga Community College’s (Tri-C) Westshore campus in Westlake near Cleveland. Admission to the event, which is part of Tri-C’s “Learning for Life” series, is free and open to the public.

Learn more. (Photo: Ohio Sea Grant.)

Climate solutions? ‘The clock is ticking’

Ohio State’s free public Environmental Film Series continues tonight, Tuesday, Jan. 28, with Ice on Fire, Leonardo DiCaprio’s 2019 documentary sharing firsthand accounts of people at the forefront of the climate crisis—scientists, farmers, innovators, and others.

Find out more. Watch the trailer above.

CFAES experts can comment on coronavirus

Zoonotic disease experts from CFAES are available to comment to the media about the new coronavirus that has emerged from China.

Zoonotic diseases are diseases that spread between animals and humans.

A Jan. 26 Washington Post story said evidence has emerged that the new, potentially dangerous coronavirus “was transmitted to humans through a market in the city of Wuhan that traded in game meat.”

Learn about hemp in Wooster, then Dayton

Hemp note: Hemp researcher Craig Schluttenhofer of Wilberforce, Ohio’s Central State University, who speaks at CFAES’ upcoming Growing Hemp in Ohio: Separating Fact from Fiction workshop, set for Friday, Jan. 24, in Wooster, will give a workshop called “Hemp! Understanding a Revived Crop” from 2–3:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 14, at the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association annual conference in Dayton. Multiple CFAES experts are slated to speak at the Wooster and Dayton events.

Boost your veggie crops’ climate resilience

Following up on their morning session on “climate-smart” organic grains, CFAES researchers Rafiq Islam and Alan Sundermeier will present “Climate-Smart Organic Vegetables: Healthy Soils, Healthy Food, and Healthy People” from 2–3:30 p.m. Feb. 14 at the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) annual conference.

Continue reading

10 things and 2 days to learn about hemp

CFAES’ OSU Extension outreach arm has published a list of the top 10 things to know about growing hemp in Ohio. Check it out.

Hempily, Happily, the list is out in time for CFAES’ Growing Hemp in Ohio: Separating Fact from Fiction workshop, which is Friday, Jan. 24, in Wooster. There’s still time to register to attend.

Also, coming soon is another hemp-focused CFAES workshop, Hemp Production and Marketing Opportunities, set for Monday, Feb. 17, in Columbus. Find out more.

What’s cool? This, both the science and the story

The award for the coolest Ohio State science story of 2019 recently went to a team of CFAES researchers—Xiaoying Zhao, Yael Vodovotz, and Katrina Cornish—who are developing a promising biodegradable alternative to the plastic that covers supermarket food.

Read about the award.

Read the story itself.