Events & Field Days

Urban Ag Field Day

Are you new to Urban Agriculture, or have you been growing for years? No matter your experience, join members of the Urban Ag team for a variety of crop management topics aimed to help your Urban Ag farm operate more efficiently and profitably. The field day will be held at the NECIC site, which features several types of actively farmed high tunnels and raised bed systems on-site. Learn about strawberry production, modernizing your irrigation system, and the benefits of row covers. Each presentation will be 15-20 minutes long with time for questions at the end. Bring your production challenges, and we’ll discuss how to solve them.

-Registration IS required for this event by June 20. Please use this link or QR code to the right: https://go.osu.edu/necic25
-There is NO registration fee to attend this event.

DATE: June 25, 2025
TIME: 4:00–6:00 p.m.
LOCATION: North End Community Improvement Collaboration, 311 Bowman Street, Mansfield, OH

FLYER

EVENT SPONSORS:

  • OSU IPM Program
  • OSU Urban Ag Team
  • OSU CFAES
  • Immediate Needs Grant
  • USDA NIFA 20247000643574
  • USDA FSA
  • FSA23CPT0012850

OPGMA-OSUE Summer Tour at OSU-Wooster/OARDC June 24

Up-to-date tips for and research findings related to key challenges and opportunities in Ohio specialty crop production will be available during the tour on June 24, 2025. Members of the statewide OSU Specialty Crops Team and collaborators will be on hand to address your questions as we view field research plots, see emerging pros and cons of various practices, planting stocks, and materials, link production and marketing, and more. The 9:00 AM-noon tour and Q/A session will feature grape, small and tree fruit, vegetable and marketing research on multiple topics. Join us for a firsthand look at field research coordinated by the OSU people listed below and others, then for lunch and visits to Greenfield Farms Cooperative (https://gffarms.com/) and a nearby farm. Register and see more information by typing go.osu.edu/tour25 in your browser navigation bar.

Scheduled OSU presenters include:
* Frank Becker (OSUE-Wayne County) – OSUE specialty crop scouting and IPM program
* David Francis (tomato breeding/genetics) – resistance as the first tool in combating soilborne disease
* Shoshanah Inwood (community, food, and economic development) – Northeast Ohio Ag Innovation Center
* Melanie Ivey research team (fruit pathology) – a new strawberry disease and biological control of apple scab
* Matt Kleinhenz (vegetable production) – uses for farmer-controlled, on-demand, solar-powered motors
* Ashley Leach (entomology) – best practices in integrated insect pest management in specialty crops
* Diane Miller (pomologist) – new apple varieties in a U-pick orchard system
* Francesca Rotondo (plant pathology/plant and pest diagnostic clinic) – correct diagnoses for successful responses
* Andres Sanabria-Velasquez (vegetable pathology) – best practices in integrated vegetable disease management
* Maria Smith (viticulturist) – grape research in support of the Ohio grape/wine industry
* Ram Yadav (weed science) – multi-pronged approaches to weed management in specialty crops
* Heping Zhu (ag engineering) – smart sprayer for efficient pesticide application

 

Tri-State High Tunnel School

Friday, March 14, 2025
9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Eastern
Cost: $25 per person
Pesticide Credits Pending

Register: go.osu.edu/htschool

Join us for an exciting new endeavor: the Tri-State High Tunnel School. This school is focused on high tunnel production and offers information to benefit commercial growers, beginning farmers, and educators, among others. Lunch is included with your registration.

Join us in person at one of several host locations:

Ohio – Piketon, Chillicothe, Wooster, Tiffin

Indiana – Goshen, Richmond

Michigan – Ann Arbor

Hosted by Extension Specialists and Educators from Michigan State University, Purdue University, and The Ohio State University.

QUESTIONS: Bradford Sherman (sherman.1473@osu.edu)

 

Event Sponsors:

2025 Farm Office Live Winter Series

The farm office team is excited to release the dates for our 2025 Farm Office Live winter series and invites you to put a placeholder on your calendars for these events. The webinars will be held on Fridays from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on:

  • January 17
  • February 21
  • March 28 and
  • April 25

You can sign up for these webinars (and find past recordings) at: https://farmoffice.osu.edu/farmofficelive

Below are details for the tentative agenda for the January 17, 2025 edition

    • Legislative Round-Up
    • Farm Business Analysis Program Update
    • Long-Term Care Update
    • Quarterly Fertilizer Update
    • Crop Input Outlook
    • Livestock Outlook
    • 1099 Reminders
    • Farm Policy & Farm Bill
    • Winter Program Update

Backyard Maple Production and Learning to Make Maple Syrup at Home

Have you ever enjoyed some good old-fashioned maple syrup and been interested in learning how to make your own? If so, this is your opportunity to learn all about making maple syrup from your backyard or your woodland.  This program is offered on January 24th at the Canter’s Cave 4-H Camp near Jackson and will include the opportunity to see and practice tapping. You will also learn everything you need to know to begin tapping your trees and making your maple syrup!

If you would like to learn more about Backyard Maple Production and Learning to Make Maple Syrup at Home, please join us on January 24th for our “A DAY in the WOODS” and Ohio Woodland Stewards program at Canter’s Cave 4-H camp.

  • Learn and understand What, When, and How to tap maple trees.
  • Learn How to handle and boil sap.
  • Understand How to finish and package syrup
  • Learn to manage your maple trees for sap production.

This program will take place at Canter’s Cave 4-H Camp near Jackson and runs from 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM. A registration fee of $25 will cover the cost of refreshments, snacks, and program materials. To download a brochure with more details about this program and future programs, visit https://go.osu.edu/upcomingwoodlandprograms.

Canter’s Cave 4-H Camp is located at 1362 Caves Road, Jackson, Ohio. 

Please use one of the following methods to register by January 20th. Register and pay online at https://go.osu.edu/woodlandstewards25; or call Ohio Woodland Stewards Program at 614-688-3421.

“A Day in the Woods” is sponsored by the Education and Demonstration Subcommittee of the Vinton Furnace State Forest with support from Ohio State University Extension, ODNR-Divisions of Forestry and Wildlife, U.S. Forest Service, Vinton Soil and Water Conservation District, Central State University Extension, National Wild Turkey Federation, Pixelle Specialty Solutions, Ohio Tree Farm Committee, Ohio Forestry Association Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hocking College,  Ruffed Grouse Society, Ohio Bird Conservation Initiative, Pheasants and Quail Forever, and Ohio’s SFI Implementation Committee.

2025 Southwestern Ohio Small Farm Management College

Location: Wilmington College, Wilmington, OH

Dates: February 5, 12, 19, & 26, 2025

Time: 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM

Cost: $80 for the first family member.  Each additional family member is $40 per person.  Each family receives only one binder of resources.  Participants are expected to attend every session.

Registration: Pre-registration is required.  Registration deadline is January 31, 2025.

2025 Southwestern Ohio Small Farm Management College

Contact Information: Greg Meyer, (513)695-1853 or meyer.213@osu.edu

Syllabus highlights:

Session I:       February 5, 2025   Getting Started on Your New Farm Business

Session II:       February 12, 2025   You Can’t Measure What You Don’t Track (Farm Recordkeeping, Budgets and Taxes)

Session III:      February 19, 2025  The Legal Side of Small Farm Management

Session IV:       February 26, 2025 Money, money, money!  The Financial Side of Small Farm Management

Register Now for the 2025 Northern Ohio Vegetable Grower Winter Meeting

OSU Extension is pleased to announce the 2025 Northern Ohio Vegetable Grower Winter Meeting will take place on March 4th, 2025.This program will provide opportunities to learn from and engage with OSU Extension specialists on various topics in vegetable production. The educational sessions include topics on crop protection against vegetable pests (insects, diseases, weeds), high tunnel management, safeguarding water quality, and more. Take part in this educational opportunity to help equip you with the knowledge you need to help improve vegetable production on your farm.

AGENDA:

9:00: Welcome/Weed Control in Sweet Corn & Pumpkins

Chris Galbraith, OSU/MSU Extension

9:35: What’s New in High Tunnel Production and Potato Varieties

Matt Kleinhenz, OSU

10:20: Break

10:30: Soilborne Disease Management in Tomatoes

Andres Sanabria Velazquez, OSU

11:00: Preserving Water Quality in the Western Lake Erie Basin

Jocelyn Ruble, OSU Extension

11:30: Cover Crops for Weed Control in Vegetables

Ram Yadav, OSU

12:00: Lunch

12:45: Pepper Insect Pest Control/IPPM in Cucurbits

Ashley Leach, OSU

1:30: Vegetable Diseases of 2024: Diagnostic Lab Recap

Francesca Rotundo, OSU

2:00: Use of Spray Drones in Vegetable Production: Challenges & Opportunities

Erdal Ozkan, OSU

2:30: Evaluations/Credits

 

The program will run from 9:00am-2:30pm, with check-in beginning at 8:30am. Registering online prior to the event is required to ensure there is room. The event will take place at The Neeley Center at Terra State Community College (2830 Napoleon Rd, Fremont, OH 43420).

This event is free and will include a catered lunch. This event is worth 3 ODA credits for Commercial category 2B (category 3 for Private) and 0.5 credit for Commercial category 1. Vegetable growers won’t want to miss this opportunity to learn from and connect with fellow growers, extension staff, and other individuals working within the vegetable industry.

Visit the link below to register for this event:

Go.osu.edu/nwveg 

Please reach out to Chris Galbraith at galbraith.108@osu.edu or 734-240-3178 with any questions.

 

 

Register for Water Quality Wednesdays!

Home | CFAES Water Quality Initiative

The Water Quality Team’s fifth annual webinar series, Water Quality Wednesdays, is back for 2025! We will be hosting three webinars on the last Wednesday of the month from January to March. These webinars will focus on the interaction between agriculture and water quality and offer CCA and CLM continuing education credits. See the attached flyer for more information on the series, and stay tuned for more information as we get closer to January! Please share with your networks. Register at go.osu.edu/WQW25!

2025 WQW Series Flyer

Montgomery County Fruit School

Growing apples in the home garden | UMN Extension

November 7, 2024

Growing Raspberries: Macy Deatty
Apple Trees: Brooks Warner
Orchards: Kane Lewis
Soil Testing: Leeoria Willis
Ginseng: Brooks Warner
Container Gardening with Fruit: Ryan Slaughter

Learn more here or visit montgomery.osu.edu

Montgomery County Fruit School Speakers

Event flyer

Ag Tax Issues Webinar

Tax practitioners, farmers, and farmland owners are encouraged to connect to the Agricultural and Natural Resources Income Tax Issues Webinar (via Zoom) on December 19th from 8:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The event is sponsored by Income Tax Schools at The Ohio State University.

The webinar focuses on issues specific to farm tax returns related to agriculture and natural resources and will highlight timely topics and new regulations.

The program is an intermediate-level course for tax preparers whose clients include farmers and rural landowners. The webinar will also benefit farmers who prepare and file their own taxes.

Tentative topics to be covered during the Ag Tax Issues webinar include:

  • New Legislation and Hot Topics
  • Tax Planning for Lean Years
  • Conservation Issues
  • Disaster and Drought Tax Issues
  • Entity Tax Issues: Split Interest Purchases, Partnership Issues
  • Expensing and Depreciation, with a deep dive on Section 179
  • Retirement Issues
  • Lease v. Purchase, Capital Leases on the Farm
  • Selling and Trading Property

 

The cost for the one-day school is $180 if registered by December 5th. After December 5th, the registration increases to $230. Additionally, the course has been approved for the following continuing education credits:

  • Accountancy Board of Ohio, CPAs (6 hours)
  • Office of Professional Responsibility, IRS (6 hours)
  • Supreme Court of Ohio, Attorneys (5 hours)

Registration includes the Agricultural Tax Issues Workbook. Early registration (at least two weeks prior to the webinar) guarantees that you’ll receive a workbook prior to the webinar.

The live webinar will also feature options for interaction and the ability to ask questions about the presented material.

More information on the workshop, including how to register, can be found at: https://go.osu.edu/2024agtaxissues

For any questions, please get in touch with Barry Ward at ward.8@osu.edu or Jeff Lewis at lewis.1459@osu.edu