Educators with OSU Extension, CFAES’ outreach arm, are working to provide fresh, healthy food to people in need because of the pandemic, especially in rural areas having few grocery stores. They’ve helped build community gardens, ramp up food pantries, launch local food councils, and more. Read about how they’re helping Ohioans.
food security
CFAES sustainability news, Feb. 24, 2021
Global Water Institute leads effort to improve water and food security with the Navajo Nation
Ohio State News, Feb. 23; researchers include Mary Rodriguez, Department of Agricultural Communication, Education, and Leadership; and Leah Bevis, Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics
CFAES sustainability news, Feb. 1, 2021
Educator tackles food insecurity in county
Youngstown Vindicator, Jan. 31; featuring Robin Adams, OSU Extension, Mahoning County
Improved soil health linked to nitrogen fertilizer efficiency
Ohio’s County Journal, Jan. 28; by Jordan Wade, Steve Culman, Cassandra Brown, OSU Extension
Gardening: By giving soil proper care, gardeners can enjoy the fruits of their labor
Columbus Dispatch, Jan. 31; by Mike Hogan, OSU Extension, Franklin County
Global pandemic doesn’t stop water quality research
Ohio’s Country Journal, Jan. 21; featuring Chris Winslow, Ohio Sea Grant, Stone Laboratory
Major new effort announced to restore soil
In heavily farmed parts of Central America, South America, and across the Caribbean, “the most degraded soils have not reached the point of no return. They can still be restored.”
So says CFAES’ Rattan Lal, Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science and 2020 World Food Prize laureate, who’s helping lead a new, 34-country initiative to tackle that restoration.
Why it’s important: Some 36 million people in the region don’t have enough good food to eat, and degraded soils play a role in it. Success, Lal says, will mean “we can eliminate hunger and malnutrition in the region, and we can protect the natural resources that are now being degraded.”
Truckload of good
Last year, Ohioans working as Master Gardener Volunteers grew nearly 80,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables—equal to the weight of a fully loaded 18-wheeler, or about 65,000 meals—which they donated to some 101 food pantries across Ohio to help people in need.
Mike Hogan, an OSU Extension educator who facilitates the Master Gardener Volunteers program in Franklin County, said the need for such donations “significantly increased this year due to the pandemic.”
Master Gardener Volunteers are plant lovers who donate their expertise and time serving the public. CFAES’ outreach arm, OSU Extension, runs the program, which gives training and has volunteers in most of the state’s counties.
CFAES sustainability news, Dec. 9, 2020
The world’s soil champion
Wicked Leeks (UK), Dec. 4; featuring Rattan Lal, School of Environment and Natural Resources
Scientist Linda Saif has been a trusted partner during pandemic
Farm and Dairy, Nov. 28; featuring Linda Saif, Food Animal Health Research Program
COVID-19 pandemic worsening food insecurity
Farm and Dairy, Nov. 26; featuring Zoe Plakias, Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics
A day, a new effort on behalf of the soil
Today, on World Soil Day, CFAES celebrates the essential role of soil in sustaining life.
And we use this day to share exciting news. CFAES’ Rattan Lal Carbon Management and Sequestration Center and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture are teaming up to launch the new “Living Soils of the Americas” initiative. Its goals: Fight the degradation of soil, improve people’s food security.
Healthy soil for food security
What’s the best we can do for the soil? Take care of it. Protect it. Make it healthier.
In Africa, CFAES researcher Richard Dick discovered a shrub that does just that—and in doing so, gives hope for greater food security. Read the story.
Please join us tomorrow for a celebration of World Soil Day.
Solutions right under our feet
“Restoring soil health,” CFAES soil scientist Rattan Lal says, “is essential to restoring human health.”
As 2020 World Food Prize laureate, he knows that solving our biggest challenges starts beneath our feet.
Join CFAES in celebrating World Soil Day
We invite you to join us this Friday, Dec. 4, for a celebration of World Soil Day. Our free public virtual program will feature:
- a keynote by Andrew Margenot of the University of Illinois;
- a keynote by CFAES’ esteemed Rattan Lal; and
- details on CFAES student research into soils, climate, farming, and food security.