Keep your backyard chickens healthy

Got backyard chickens? Want to do all you can to keep them healthy? Check out “Top 10 Diseases of Backyard Poultry,” a workshop by OSU Extension educator Tim McDermott, DVM, during the upcoming Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) conference. McDermott will help you identify and prevent the most common diseases of backyard poultry.

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Just how polluted are some urban soils, and how can organic farming help them?

CFAES scientist Larry Phelan presents “Remediation of Post-Industrial Urban Soils by Organic Management”—based on soil health research in vacant lots in Cleveland—from 11–11:45 a.m. Wednesday, March 31.

His talk is part of the free public winter webinar series by CFAES’ Organic Food and Farming Education and Research program.

Learn more and get the log-in details (scroll down).

How to help your lettuce keep its cool

Leafy greens generally don’t like it hot. What can you do? Tim McDermott, educator with the Franklin County office of OSU Extension, CFAES’ outreach arm, and Michelle Nowak of Columbus’s Franklinton Farms will share ideas during the upcoming annual conference of the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association.

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‘We put together a small feast’

Eric Tiu, left, and Jameel Watson came together by chance as roommates, found they shared a common experience as former members of 4-H—Tiu in Ohio, Watson in Jamaica—and used that experience to dive into raising backyard chickens in New York City. Result: fresh local meat and eggs for themselves as well as for people in need.

Read the story. (Photo courtesy Eric Tiu.)

New website for backyard chicken info

Got backyard chickens? Want answers to your questions about them? CFAES Extension educator Tim McDermott, who holds a DVM degree, has created the Backyard Poultry Production website, featuring links to archived and upcoming chicken-related webinars, CFAES fact sheets, a list of Ohio veterinarians who see poultry, and more.

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Mansfield event will showcase microfarms

The Mansfield Microfarm Project—an effort to demonstrate small-scale, high-yield, sustainable urban farming based at Ohio State’s Mansfield campus—is holding a free public symposium on Friday, Nov. 15. The program will feature site visits to newly constructed urban microfarms and presentations on research and programming by the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, which has provided a $2 million matching grant in support of the microfarm project.

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Growing ‘a sense of belonging’

Eighteen central Ohio veterans spent summer farming at CFAES’ Waterman Agricultural and Natural Resources Laboratory in Columbus. As participants in a pilot project called the Veteran Farming Program—organized by the Central Ohio VA Healthcare System and CFAES’ OSU Extension outreach arm—the veterans gained practice in farming and gardening while benefiting from the activities’ therapeutic aspects. They graduated from the program earlier this month.

“I used to farm when I was younger,” said Vietnam veteran Bob Udeck, 74. “It feels really good to get your hands dirty again—planting something, nurturing it, and watching it produce.”

Read the full story on our CFAES Stories site. (Photo: Mike Hogan, OSU Extension.)