local foods

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.

We’ve got the local meat. Now how do we sell it? OEFFA conference preview

grilled beef steakMarketing locally raised meat can be “time consuming, costly and complex,” says the description of Hannah Scott’s workshop at the upcoming Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association annual conference. But the challenges, the description says, can be addressed by using the cooperative business model. Scott, who’s program manager of the Ohio Cooperative Development Center at CFAES’s OSU South Centers in Piketon, will explain the model in her workshop. She’ll give good examples of farmers who’ve teamed up to market their meat with success. “Local Meats and the Co-op Model,” Session IV, 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 11. Complete conference schedule.

Registration open for February hops conference

cone of hopThe 2017 Ohio State University Hops Conference and Trade Show is Feb. 24-25 at CFAES’s South Centers in Piketon. Online registration is available here. Hops are a main ingredient for making beer.

CFAES scientists, for their part, are continuing to develop ways to grow hops sustainably in Ohio.

A fact sheet from CFAES’s outreach arm, OSU Extension, says, “Locally grown hops could support a diversity of producers, with significant profit to be made on small acreage.”

Sustaining sweetness: Ohio Maple Days are Jan. 19-21

This year’s Ohio Maple Days are Jan. 19 in Morrow County, Jan. 20 in Wayne County (the location is close to Holmes County, too) and Jan. 21 in Geauga County. The annual events, which are the same at all three locations, help maple syrup producers get ready for the coming season, which in Ohio usually starts sometime in February. They’re sponsored by CFAES’s Ohio Maple Syrup Program. Check out the brochure, which includes program details and a registration form, here.

Event in Mt. Hope for produce and flower growers

Image of Mid Ohio Growers brochureThe 2017 Mid-Ohio Growers Meeting, whose tagline is “Top-notch education for produce and flower growers,” will feature several CFAES experts among its speakers: Brad Bergefurd (“Pumpkins and Gourds from Seed to Harvest”), Sally Miller (“Managing Soil-Borne Diseases in Vegetables” and “Vegetable Seed Treatment”), Celeste Welty (Using Multiple Tactices to Manage Pests”) and Rory Lewandowski (“Applying the Correct Chemicals Efficiently”).

The event is Jan 12-13 in Mt. Hope in Holmes County. Admission is $20 by Dec. 31; $25 afterward, including at the door; with children 14 and under free.

Download the event brochure, which includes the complete schedule, speaker details and a registration form, here.

Thursday at 4 p.m.: Future of Waterman Farm in Columbus?

Aerial image of Waterman FarmWhat’s a sustainable future for CFAES’s Waterman Agricultural and Natural Resources Laboratory (pictured) in Columbus? Faculty members from Ohio State’s Knowlton School of Architecture and CFAES’s School of Environment and Natural Resources will share their ideas in a seminar called “The New Waterman: At the Intersection of Productive Research, Education and Community Engagement.” It’s today, Thursday, Nov. 17, from 4-5:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. You can attend in Columbus, watch by videolink at OARDC in Wooster, or watch online on your computer or mobile device. More. (Photo: CFAES.)

The fruits (and vegetables) of growing school gardens

Mother and son outdoorsSchool gardens can be magical places for kids. And “peaceful, interesting and exciting,” too. So says CFAES’s Sue Hogan, a 4-H educator who’s coordinating the fourth annual Ohio School Garden Conference on Oct. 7 at Ohio State in Columbus. It’s for teachers, administrators, after-school program staff and interested members of the community. Details.