Harvest – Winter 2018

AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY REVIEW

INSIDE

DAIRY FARMS STRUGGLE

WITH LOW MILK PRICES

PLUS

OHIO WOMEN FARMERS

SUPPORTED BY OHIO STATE PROGRAMS

THE CAUV REVALUATION:

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

WINTER 2018

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WINTER 2018 | VOLUME 05 | ISSUE 01

FEATURES

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DAIRY FARMS STRUGGLE

With Low Milk Prices

BUCKEYE AGRICULTURAL MUSEUM

Grew From State Vision to Local Reality

OHIO STATE PROGRAMS

Support Ohio Women Farmers

OHIO STATE ATI

Internationally Recognized

CREATING BETTER SOYBEANS

IN EVERY ISSUE

05 22 38

CAN YOU NAME THIS TOOL? SUBSCRIBE TO HARVEST SPRING AG EVENTS

© 2018 Spectrum Publications – A Division of GateHouse Media 212 E. Liberty St., Wooster, OH 44691 | 330-264-1125 | 800-686-2958 | editor@spectrumpubs.com Find us on facebook.com/OhioHarvest Group Publisher – Bill Albrecht | Spectrum Director – Kelly Gearhart | Content Coordinator – Emily Rumes | Designer – Adam Arditi HARVEST magazine is a quarterly publication centered in some of the most agriculturally rich counties in Ohio. We will bring you the latest in farming technologies, industry practices and hot topics in agriculture from industry experts in our area. If you wish to submit an article or offer a suggestion, please feel free to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.

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USDA LAUNCHES WEBPAGE

with Resources for Rural Communities in the Opioid Crisis

CAUV REVALUATION:

What You Need to Know

USDA CENSUS

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USDA LAUNCHES WEBPAGE

Press Release from USDA

WITH RESOURCES FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES IN THE OPIOID CRISIS

ASSISTANT TO THE SECRETARY FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT ANNE HAZLETT today unveiled a new webpage featuring resources to help rural communities respond to the opioid crisis.

“While no corner of the country has gone untouched by the opioid crisis, small towns and rural places have been particularly hard hit,” Hazlett said. “The challenge of opioid misuse is an issue of rural prosperity and will take all hands on deck to address. The webpage we are launching today will help rural leaders build a response that is tailored to meet the needs of their community.”

The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that more than 63,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2016. More than half of those deaths involved opioids, including prescription drugs and heroin.

USDA is playing an important role to help rural communities address this national problem at the local level through program investment, strategic partnerships and best practice implementation.

In April 2017, President Donald J. Trump established the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to identify legislative, regulatory and policy changes that could promote agriculture and prosperity in rural communities. In January 2018, Secretary Perdue presented the Task Force’s findings to President Trump, which included 31

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recommendations to align the federal government with state, local and tribal governments to take advantage of opportunities that exist in rural America.

In the area of quality of life, the Task Force included a recommendation to modernize health care access. The report highlighted the importance of telemedicine in enhancing access to primary care and specialty providers. The Task Force also found that improved access to mental and behavioral health care, particularly prevention, treatment and recovery resources, is vital to addressing the opioid crisis and other substance misuse in rural communities.

To view the report in its entirety, please view the Report to the President of the United States from the Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity (PDF, 5.4 MB). In addition, to view the categories of the recommendations, please view the Rural Prosperity infographic (PDF, 190 KB).

USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community services such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.

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Can you name this simple hand tool that gave farmers in our region the “cutting edge” in their daily duties in the 1800s?

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DAIRY FARMS STRUGGLE

Story by | Laurie Sidle ASHLAND TIMES-GAZETTE CORRESPONDENT

Photos by | Mike Schenk

WITH LOW MILK PRICES

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THE DAILY RECORD

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RON AND RENEE MICHALOVICH knew their dream of owning a dairy farm would come with struggles.

Since buying two registered brown Swiss heifers with wedding gift money in 1979 and building their herd to about 190 milking cows, the Lakeville couple has experienced the highs and lows of the business.

Currently, like all dairy farmers, they are facing the challenge of surviving a period of low milk prices and a projection for the new year that doesn’t appear to bring relief.

“Seeing the month to month drop in milk prices is very depressing, very stressful,” said Renee

“SEEING THE MONTH TO MONTH DROP IN MILK PRICES IS VERY DEPRESSING, VERY STRESSFUL...WE’D LIKE TO THINK WE’RE IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL, BUT IT’S HARD TO SEE THE POSITIVES.” – RENEE MICHALOVICH | DAIRY FARMER

DAIRY FARMS continues on pg. 8

ABOVE: Kevin Michalovich stands with some young calves at the Michalovich family dairy farm, which was started in 1979.

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Michalovich, who manages the family’s financial records. “We’d like to think we’re in it for the long haul, but it’s hard to see the positives.”

“The last few years have been difficult for dairy farmers,” said Wayne County Extension Agriculture Educator Rory Lewandowski. “There’s a lot of milk out there,” he said, and the overproduction is driving down the price.

Much of the increased supply is due to increased cow numbers, he said, “and farmers doing a better job of increasing milk production per cow through better genetics and better cow management.”

The surplus production is not only in the United States, but worldwide.

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DAIRY FARMS continued from pg. 7

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ABOVE: West Holmes senior Moses Schlabach and Kevin, Kari and Ron Michalovich with Lincoln the dog in a cattle shed at “Farmers are very good at producing milk,” Ron the Michalovich family dairy farm. Like all dairy farmers, the Michalovich said, They just don’t know how to back Michaloviches are facing the challenge of surviving a period of off. “When there’s a lot of milk out there, it’s hard to low milk prices. get rid of it.”

The difficulty is finding a supply level at which dairy farmers across the board can make money, Big Prairie dairy farmer Larry Alexander said. “When milk prices are good, farmers tend to add more cows.”

When prices drop, there’s the urge to add more cows to increase cash flow.

Dianne Shoemaker, Ohio State University Extension dairy field specialist in dairy production economics, said milk pricing is a complicated system that has nothing to do with what milk sells for at the retail level.

Milk prices are set by the Federal Milk Marketing Order System 33, she said, and unless farmers contract a price, they actually don’t know what they’ll be paid for the milk until a month after they produce it.

In 2014 milk prices were at record highs, exceeding $24 per 100 pounds — 8.6 gallons.

Shoemaker said economists had been expecting to see $17 per hundredweight milk in 2017. Instead, for the first six months of last year, Class III milk prices (what most Ohio farmers receive) averaged $16.12 per hundredweight, and in the next three months those prices are expected to drop below $14 per hundredweight.

“These are dangerously low milk prices,” she said.

“That is not many dollars above what farmers pay for feed.”

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Ron Michalovich said every dollar drop per hundredweight represents about a $3,800 loss for his farm. “If we get $20 (per hundredweight) we feel we can survive,” he said. “When it gets down to $16 or $17 (per hundredweight) we get nervous.”

The Michaloviches, who farm with their son, Kevin and his wife, Kari, have enjoyed success selling champion breeding stock and show cattle, which has helped supplement their income. Even in depressed times, Renee Michalovich said, “the cows come first.

We cut back on our own needs before we cut back on anything for the cows.”

She also said they are thankful for a milk market that will compensate them for the higher protein content in the milk from their brown Swiss cows. The Michaloviches sell their milk to Guggisberg Cheese in Charm and 100 percent of it is made into cheese.

Colin Gordon, financial officer at Farm Credit Mid-America, Wooster office, said farmers in all commodity areas are being resourceful to find ways to sustain their business.

He related the story of a local young couple with young children who looked for alternate sources of income to keep their dairy farm in business. The

“FARMERS ARE VERY GOOD AT PRODUCING MILK. THEY JUST DON’T KNOW HOW TO BACK OFF. WHEN THERE’S A LOT OF MILK OUT THERE, IT’S HARD TO GET RID OF IT.”

– RON MICHALOVICH | DAIRY FARMER husband took a job in construction, Gordon said. “He leaves at 7 a.m. and his parents and wife do all the farm work.”

“There’s a lot of self-identity wrapped up in farming,” Lewandowski said, so during tough financial times, farmers tend to see themselves as failures, “when it’s not any fault of their own.”

Lois Douglass of Marshallville, who with her husband, John, and their children own 4,000 milking cows, said a big problem with too much milk on the market is that processors will take whoever sells milk the cheapest and cooperatives will pay under the federal order price to get rid of the milk.

Unfortunately, Shoemaker said, “there are no magic answers to make it better.”

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THE CAUV REVALUATION:

Story by | Lindsay Shoup OHIO FARM BUREAU

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN – TAX TIME! It’s The new changes included: also the time of year when you receive your annual • Financial market data used in the calculation is CAUV application form from your county auditor. now tied to the farm economy and what happens For some counties, this form has changed quite a bit. on farms, rather than the general financial markets; Why is that?

• An increase in holding assumptions from five years to 25 years, as most farms are passed down A LOOK BACK AT 2017 in a family and are owned and operated for more Thanks to the power of Farm Bureau members than five years; coming together to create a unified voice to our • Equity assumptions, previously based on the legislators, the CAUV formula was updated in general federal interest rate, will now be based on the state budget in June. This change came not a farm-specific equity data from the United States moment too soon, as Ohio farmers had witnessed a Department of Agriculture; and state-wide average increase of 307% in their property • CAUV land used for year-round conservation taxes between 2008 and 2014. practices or enrolled in a federal land retirement or conservation program for at least three years, will now be valued at the lowest of the values assigned on the basis of soil type.

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WHAT WE ARE SEEING IN 2018 As expected, 2017 revaluation counties (41 counties in OH including Ashland, Harrison, Knox, Mahoning, Richland, Summit, and Wayne) are seeing a 30% decrease in their CAUV values and similar decreases in farmland taxes. Counties yet to be revaluated in 2018 (include but not limited to Belmont, Coshocton, Guernsey, Muskingum, Portage, and Stark) and 2019 (include but not limited to Carroll, Columbiana, Holmes, Medina, and Tuscarawas) should expect to see similar changes in the coming years.

“FARMERS ARE ONLY 2% OF THE POPULATION. IF WE WANT IMPORTANT WORK TO BE DONE ON CAUV, REGULATIONS, AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESTRICTIONS, THEN WE ALL NEED TO BE PART OF THE SOLUTION.” – LINDSAY SHOUP | OHIO FARM BUREAU FEDERATION ORGANIZATION DIRECTOR ASHLAND, HOLMES, MEDINA & WAYNE COUNTIES

NEW CAUV FORMS The positive changes Farm Bureau was able to secure for land in conservation practices will mean significant savings for landowners but it also means a new enrollment and renewal form has been created by the Department of Taxation to document those lands properly.

The form asks for landowners to declare the amount of acres in different land uses.

Under CAUV reform, conservation lands are valued at the minimum CAUV value of $230/acre.

Landowners must also provide additional information to the auditor to receive this lowered conservation value.

For Conservation Practice Land (up to 25 percent of total acreage), the landowner must provide a map showing where the conservation practice is located. Landowners should also identify what the practice is, so the auditor can verify that it meets the requirements of the law. Maps can typically be obtained from the Farm Service Agency and Natural Resource Conservation Office.

If you receive the lowered conservation value, the land must remain in the practice for at least 36 months. If the practice is removed before 36 months, the landowner will be liable for recoupment equal to the difference between the conservation value and the actual CAUV soil value.

Deadline: Landowners in 2017 reappraisal/ update counties need to amend their 2017 CAUV filings from last year by March 5, 2018 to receive this lowered value for taxes they pay in 2018. This is the same date that 2018 CAUV renewal forms are due to the auditor.

Landowners in 2018/2019 reappraisal/update counties should begin certifying this acreage now, but the change to conservation value will not take place until the next reappraisal or update.

WE NEED YOU: These CAUV improvements would not have been possible without our members. Farmers are only 2% of the population. If we want important work to be done on CAUV, regulations, and environmental restrictions, then we all need to be part of the solution. Our collective voice is strong but if everyone takes the attitude that someone else can carry my message, then we will not be able to accomplish what we do. If you are interested in becoming a Farm Bureau member, please visit ofbf.org or give us a call at 330-263-7456.

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OHIO STATE PROGRAMS SUPPORT

Story by | Alayna DeMartini THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY CFAES NEWS

OHIO WOMEN FARMERS

RARELY IS THE IMAGE OF A FARMER A WOMAN, and yet, among all of Ohio’s farms, 40 percent are managed or partly managed by women. Nationally, women made up almost one third of all farmers, according to 2012 census data, the most recent year available.

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With women playing such a significant part in running or helping to run farms across the state, Ohio State University Extension connects women farmers and provides support for them to thrive and continue the healthy growth of women in the field.

OSU Extension is the outreach arm of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University.

The number of female farm operators in the state has been rising since 1978 when it was first tracked.

“It’s surprising to people to find out how many women are involved in agriculture even though women have had an important role since the beginning of agriculture,” said Emily Adams, an OSU Extension educator in Coshocton County.

Between 2007 and 2012, there was a slight dip in women as principal operators on farms both in Ohio and the U.S. In the Buckeye state, the number declined by 5 percent. A new census is currently underway.

“IT’S SURPRISING TO PEOPLE TO FIND OUT HOW MANY WOMEN ARE INVOLVED IN AGRICULTURE EVEN THOUGH WOMEN HAVE HAD AN IMPORTANT ROLE SINCE THE BEGINNING OF AGRICULTURE.” – EMILY ADAMS OSU EXTENSION EDUCATOR

For women in counties across the state, OSU Extension hosts educational workshops to help them improve their farming and management skills and network with other women farmers.

Some of the challenges women in farming face are the same ones their male counterparts confront: planning for their successors on the farm as well as contending with insurance, liabilities and financial challenges.

But a lot of women say they are especially challenged by tending to the needs of their family members and the constant demands of the business,

Adams pointed out.

“Women working in agriculture are trying to balance work and family responsibilities, and the two are interwoven because as women farmers, they often are working with family members 24/7.”

“We strive to empower women with information and knowledge so they are prepared for situations.

Hopefully, they will worry less and recognize the influence they can have over a situation.”

Among the offerings that OSU Extension provides for women farmers is Annie’s Project, which is part of a national effort to enhance the farming and business skills of women involved in all aspects of agriculture.

Two weekend conferences were held in Ohio this past month as part of Annie’s Project a program that works to empower farm and ranch women to be better business partners through networks and by managing and organizing critical information. The events will be Jan 25-28 at Salt Fork State Park Lodge and Conference Center, 14755 Cadiz Road, in Lore City, Ohio, and Feb. 2-4 at Western Buckeye Christian Camp, 5455 Roeth Road, in Houston, Ohio. For more information, visit go.osu.edu/annieretreat2018

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BUCKEYE AGRICULTURAL MUSEUM

GREW FROM STATE VISION TO LOCAL REALITY

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WHAT THE GOVERNMENT COULDN’T PULL OFF, six volunteers on a mission have been able to achieve.

The blossoming Buckeye Agricultural Museum and Education Center, located on West Old Lincoln Way across from the Wayne County Fairgrounds, was born from a vision germinated as far back as the 1970s.

Today, it is close to completion and scheduled to open in the spring as a Wayne County attraction sure to gain traction as a cultural resource locally and in the state.

“This project is sort of a small miracle,” said Paul Locher, a retired Daily Record reporter who is among the six who helped spearhead the agricultural museum and who serves as its curatorial consultant.

Locher said some of the “best brains” had tried to get the museum off the ground when it was first conceived during the nations’s bicentennial and the governorship of James A. Rhodes.

According to a history of the project, an Ohio Agricultural Museum Committee was formed in 1975, and a resolution backing construction of the museum was introduced in 1977 in the Ohio General Assembly

by Rep. John E. Johnson and Sen. Kenneth Cox. Although plans were put into place and financing was tentatively arranged, as detailed by historical information, a new state administration and fading

enthusiasm over the bicentennial put the project on a back burner.

In 2013, the group of six men who named themselves Friends of Wayne County Fair began meeting regularly, under the leadership of a local farmer, Ron Grosjean, to revive the plan.

“Six guys ironically were able to do this,” said Locher, giving a tour of “the old industrial building that we’re trying to make look like an old barn” in its new birth as an agricultural museum.

The building, comprised of 19,500 square feet on 3 1/2 acres, has been transformed through private donations, multiple fundraisers and a $400,000 development grant from the state of Ohio, and “ultimately will be owned by the Wayne County Fair,” Locher said.

Instead of locating the museum on the grounds of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center as originally planned, it has been implemented in a building with a history of its own, which ranged from an International Harvester Company industrial complex to an American Motors franchise renamed Harold Cook Inc. It suffered damage during the 1969 flood, following which it was repaired and expanded.

The most recent chapter in the property’s history was its sale to the Friends of Wayne County Fair.

The entrance to the new museum is, appropriately, a silo; and agricultural equipment and related items are already housed in the building awaiting exhibit space throughout the building.

“THIS PROJECT IS SORT OF A SMALL MIRACLE.” – PAUL LOCHER CURATORIAL CONSULTANT

AGRICULTURAL MUSEUM continues on pg. 16

FAR LEFT: The exterior of the new Buckeye Agricultural Museum and Education Center features an entrance through a new silo built on the west end of the building.

LEFT: A built-in facsimile of corn crib, complete with bag filler, is one of the highlights of the new Buckeye Agricultural Museum and Education Center nearing completion in Wooster.

RIGHT TOP: The Wayne County Fair room in the Buckeye Agricultural Museum, Paul Locher points out, is one of the new building’s highlights.

RIGHT MIDDLE: Paul Locher and Kristin Lorson look over seasonal drawings Lorson will be painting on the front of the new Buckeye Agricultural Museum building in Wooster.

RIGHT BOTTOM: An old steam engine and other miscellaneous antique farm implements are being housed as part of the archival history of area farming in the new Buckeye Agricultural Museum and Education Center on West Old Lincoln Way in Wooster.

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AGRICULTURAL MUSEUM continued from pg. 15 Every museum needs a “Tyrannosaurus rex,” in the opinion of local artist Kristin Lorson, in other words, a pièce de résistance.

For the Buckeye Agricultural Museum, it will be a steam engine, said Lorson, who will be filling “blank spaces” on the exterior and interior of the building with agricultural murals.

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“They have an actual steam engine that works,” Lorson said, noting she has been “all consumed” in researching the agricultural history of the state and reproducing it in her artwork.

The centerpiece she referred to is a 16-horsepower, 1923 Russell Steam Engine “restored many years ago

by Wayne Mutual Insurance,” Locher said. It will be “re-restored” to work on compressed air, allowing visitors to see it operate.

Locher began an early tour in Gallery A, which covers the period from “early settlement to the Civil War” with “very primitive machinery.”

Gallery B highlights the Civil War through World War II and features a hay trolley, a corn crib and cow stanchion.

“We built a barn door,” Locher said, and “exposed the original tin ceiling from when the building was originally built...about 1923.”

“This is still a work in progress,” he said of Exhibit Room C, which will encompass a blacksmith shop.

Locher emphasized the renovation is being done in phases, and one of them will make use of the “last free-standing granary in Wayne County,” from the Tom Orr Farm in Apple Creek, which is going to be used as a walk-through exhibit.

A Champion Threshing Machine, dated 1897, “will be in one of the main galleries,” Locher said, also pointing out an old corn planter with seed boxes.

AT ITS CRUX, HOWEVER, THE BUCKEYE MUSEUM IS ABOUT MAINTAINING LOCAL HERITAGE AND PRESERVING THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE FARMING COMMUNITY.

One of the highlights of the building is a museum within a museum — a gallery dedicated to the history of the Wayne County Fair filled with newspaper articles, portraits of featured performers over the years, archival items and pictures of local fair participants, for whom “we’re trying to get IDs,” Locher said.

One of the unexpected assets of the new museum has been the creation of meeting space for the community, said Locher, pointing out, “The town is just crying for (it).”

“The smaller room (available) is already in use,” he said, adding, rental requests are being made “right and left.”

“We’re supplying a need we didn’t expect,” Locher said, noting 100 chairs, as well as round tables, have been ordered to meet the demand.

Martha Starkey, the executive director of the Wayne County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau, said she is excited about “a new venue” for motor coach tours, which are always looking for a new stop on itineraries.

“I was real impressed with the work done on the inside,” she said, making positive comments as well about the meeting space.

Use for the museum continues to expand, as an art gallery meeting room, with a cable hanging system for displaying art work, is also in process.

RV storage in the back of the building is “a good revenue source,” Locher said.

At its crux, however, the Buckeye Museum is about maintaining local heritage and preserving the contribution of the farming community.

“Every year we’re farther removed from the roots and history of agriculture,” said Bob Troutman, one of the Friends of Wayne County Fair. “It’s important to remember (the significance).”

“Educational Center” is included in the title of the new museum because of the anticipation in working with schools to “keep kids excited about (agriculture),” Troutman said.

Other members of the Friends of Wayne County Fair are Grosjean, the president; Richard Mairs and Mike Buchholz, co-vice presidents; Tom Stocksdale, secretary/ treasurer; and Troutman, assistant secretary/treasurer.

Reporter Linda Hall can be reached at lhall@thedaily-record.com or 330-264-1125, ext. 2230. She is @ lindahallTDR on Twitter.

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OHIO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Press Release from THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

ENCOURAGES OHIOANS TO RESPOND TO CENSUS NOW THE OHIO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (ODA) urges Ohio farmers and producers who have not yet done so to respond to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Census of Agriculture.

Responses are accepted in the mail and online through February 5.

“The data collected from the Census of Agriculture is critically important as decision makers at all levels work to help agriculture grow in our state and country,” said ODA Director David T. Daniels. “Census data impacts nearly every Ohio farmer or producer through a variety of conservation and support programs. The census is important and I hope everyone involved in Ohio’s food and agriculture industry does their part.”

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“THE CENSUS IS THE ONLY SOURCE OF COMPREHENSIVE AND IMPARTIAL AGRICULTURAL DATA FOR NOT ONLY EVERY COUNTY IN OHIO, BUT EVERY COUNTY IN THE NATION.” – DAVID T. DANIELS OHIO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DIRECTOR

Census data is used to support rural infrastructure; farm service agency loan programs; natural resources conservation services programs and rural development funds. USDA has improved the online form making responding easier and more convenient than ever. Additionally, federal law requires that all responses are secure and confidential.

“The census is the only source of comprehensive and impartial agricultural data for not only every county in Ohio, but every county in the nation,” said Daniels. “I understand some people might have pause sharing the information asked for, but please know

the responses to the questions asked are confidential and the aggregated information is critical to shaping the future of agriculture for the next decade.”

Taken every five years, the Census of Agriculture is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. Even the smallest plots of land with vegetables, fruit, livestock, equine or food animals are included.

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PROPOSED FEDERAL CHANGES

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“IT SEEMS THAT REGULATIONS COVERING EGG-PROCESSING FACILITIES ARE FAR BEHIND WHAT HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED IN POULTRY AND MEAT FACILITIES. IT’S TIMELY. MAYBE IT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED SOONER.”

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government inspectors at egg processors and allows the plants to self-regulate many areas, which the USDA argues will save money and let the industry be more innovative.

“As we continue to modernize inspection systems and processes, we are committed to strengthening consistency across the services that (food-safety) personnel carry out for the consuming public,” Carmen Rottenberg, acting deputy undersecretary for food safety, said in a press release. “This proposed rule will ensure the same level of inspection and oversight of all regulated products as we carry out – AHMED YOUSEF our public health mission.”

PROFESSOR OF FOOD MICROBIOLOGY The new rules also eliminate certain steps and OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY checks, such as reviews and some permit requirements for new building designs and equipment purchases.

Yousef thinks much of what he understands of the processors — facilities that break eggs and produce changes might be favorable for the industry, yet he liquid or dried egg products — with meat processors cautions that eggs remain sensitive to contamination. and make inspections more efficient by standardizing “I am for less regulation,” he said, “but regulation inspection criteria across industries. has a place to keep us safe.”

Ohio, the second-largest egg producing state behind Iowa, has six processing plants that would jmalone@dispatch.com need to adapt to the new rules, according to the Twitter: @j_d_malone USDA. At first glance, the changes could be a step in the Training Wayne County Youth right direction, said Ahmed Yousef, professor of food for Employment and Leadership microbiology and a food safety expert at Ohio State since 1969!

University.

“It seems that regulations covering egg-processing facilities are far behind what has been implemented in poultry and meat facilities,” Yousef said. “It’s timely.

Maybe it should have happened sooner.”

The effects of the rule changes, which came as something of a surprise, are not entirely known yet.

The 254-page report issued by the USDA will take time to figure out, said Jim Chakeres, vice president of the Ohio Poultry Association.

Three Great FFA Programs: “The proposal was just released, and it appears to Ag Mechanics/Power Technologies be very complex,” he said. “We are going to need to take some time to study and review it.”

Animal Care & Management The clock has started on a 120-day comment Landscaping & Turf Management period, after which the USDA will make a decision on the rules.

Wayne County Schools The egg industry is vast, and eggs are in all manner Career Center of foods. The U.S. produces more than 90 billion eggs a year, and each American consumes more than 250 518 West Prospect Street Smithville, Ohio 44677 annually, according to the USDA. 330-669-7000 The Trump administration has made it a focus to peel back regulations on all sorts of industries. www.wcscc.org The rule change appears to scale back the role of HARVEST

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AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY REVIEW

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CORN & WHEAT BUNDLE TWINE CUTTER Story & Photos by | Emily Rumes GATEHOUSE MEDIA

By the turn of the century, virtually all small grain was harvested with a twine tie machine.

This bundle twine cutter would have been used to cut the twine holding the corn and wheat bundles together. Wheat bundles would have been dried and stored in a barn or a carefully built stack, then capped with grasses to shed rain until threshing tine.

Special thanks to Ralph Smucker and the Pioneer Village of the Smithville Community Historical Society for this image and the information on the tool, which was donated by the James E. Nettleman family of Smithville.

You can visit the Pioneer Village and Historical Society in Smithville, which consists of nine main buildings and three smaller structures. This tool was in the LyDo Barn, a “Yankee” style barn originally built in 1840. The artifacts on display are from the 1800’s

Collection of Smithville Community Historical Society

& early 1900’s and many pieces were used on local farms. Visit SOHCHS.org or find them on Facebook for more information and upcoming events. Their next Open House will be on Sunday, May 20th for the Antique Power Show.

Join us on the journey and become a part of preserving farms and protecting natural resources. Become an Ohio Farm Bureau member today.

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OHIO SWCD SUPERVISOR

Press Release from OFSWCD

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THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of Conservation Districts (NACD) honored conservation leaders from across the country during the organization’s 72nd Annual Meeting in Nashville, Tennessee at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.

The NACD along with the USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) “Olin Sims Conservation Leadership Award” is presented annually to an individual, district or organization that has gone above and beyond in promoting conservation on private lands.

This year’s award was presented by Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Acting Chief Leonard Jordan to Kris Swartz, a Wood Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) Supervisor.

Swartz is a fifth-generation farmer from Perrysburg, Ohio. He and his wife, Sue, operate a 2,000-acre farm in Wood County where they grow soybeans, corn and wheat. Swartz is the past president of the Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts

“I AM DEEPLY HONORED TO RECEIVE THIS AWARD. THIS AWARD BELONGS TO MY CONSERVATION FAMILY IN OHIO AND OUR EFFORTS TO STRIVE DAILY TO MAKE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON OUR SOILS AND WATER.”

Our collaboration is vitally important as we seek to keep lands productive and waters clean for future generations.”

The National Association of Conservation Districts is the non-profit organization that represents the nation’s 3,000 conservation districts, their state and territory associations, and the 17,000 men and women who serve on their governing boards. For more than 70 years, local conservation districts have worked with cooperating landowners and managers of private working lands to help them plan and apply effective conservation practices. For more information about NACD, visit: www.nacdnet.org.

The OFSWCD is a non-profit organization providing support and assistance to Ohio’s 88 county Soil and Water Conservation Districts and the 1000+ men and women Supervisors and staff serving each district.

County SWCDs provide a variety of conservation related assistance and programs to landowners and users’ of Ohio’s working lands -- working hard to keep soils productive and waters clean throughout the state of Ohio.

For more information on the OFSWCD, please contact Mindy Bankey, CEO at (614)784.1900.

– KRIS SWARTZ SWCD SUPERVISOR (OFSWCD). Under his leadership, Ohio became one of the leading states in adding Soil Health Champions to NACD’s Soil Health Champion Network.

Additionally, his efforts have brought more attention, funding, training, and education centered on water quality, 4Rs, and nutrient stewardship activities carried out by Ohio’s SWCDs. “I am deeply honored to receive this award,” said Swartz. “This award belongs to my conservation family in Ohio and our efforts to strive daily to make a positive impact on our soils and water,” continued Swartz.

“Thanks to NACD and NRCS for this recognition.

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WELFARE OF ANIMALS

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NEW AGRICULTURE REGULATIONS that go into effect this year will affect certain Ohio farmers.

Veal producers can no longer use veal crates, or confining stalls, for raising calves. Further, dairy cows can no longer have their tails docked, that is, partly amputated.

The new rules were part of a sweeping agreement made between several agricultural groups, Gov. Ted Strickland’s administration and the Humane Society of the United States in 2010. The agreement headed off a referendum similar to one that passed in California in 2008 that, among other things, banned the housing of chickens in cages.

“THIS WAS A WATERSHED AGREEMENT IN TERMS OF OHIO ANIMAL WELFARE. WE’RE VERY PLEASED THAT THESE ELEMENTS HAVE BEEN ADHERED TO.� – WAYNE PACELLE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE NATIONAL HUMANE SOCIETY “The reason people used to do it is it was thought to be cleaner,� Boyles said. “But the data showed that there wasn’t a reason to do it.� jmalone@dispatch.com @j_d_malone

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“This was a watershed agreement in terms of Ohio animal welfare,� said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the national humane society, who negotiated the deal. “We’re very pleased that these elements have been adhered to.�

Veal is not a major commodity in Ohio, and cattle is a small segment of the state’s agricultural economy.

The small size is the reason negotiators settled on banning the use of veal crates by the end of 2017.

The same agreement put a date of 2025 for the phasing out of gestation stalls at the state’s growing hog farms. Farmers with major investments to make needed longer to comply, said Stephen Boyles, beef production expert at Ohio State University Extension.

The deal also put into effect a moratorium on new construction of chicken egg farms using battery cages, in which birds are confined to tiny cages stacked atop each other in huge barns.

A veal crate doesn’t allow a calf to turn around or move much at all.

There are advantages to confining animals in small cages or stalls, such as more efficient feeding and handling as well as some added biosecurity, since the animals touch each other less. Yet, consumers and food producers have pressured farmers to move away from confining animals. “They are evolving out of maintaining animals in crates,� Boyles said of farmers. “It will mean more space for those animals, and it will reduce the density inside of a barn.�

Other states are implementing similar crate, stall and cage measures, including Michigan, Kentucky and Massachusetts.

Docking dairy cows’ tails was a fairly standard practice for decades, Boyles said. Dirt and other substances often adhere to the the tuft of hair on the end of a cow’s tail.

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RAIN, RAIN WILL IT EVER GO AWAY?

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Story by | Alayna DeMartini OSU CFAES NEWS

IF IT SEEMS THAT YOU’RE REACHING for your umbrella more often — or wishing you had — here’s the reason.

Ohio is getting a lot more rain than it used to and more intense downpours.

That may seem like just an inconvenience when you want to work outside or an expense if your roof springs a leak. However, the consequences are far more significant for farmers who plant and tend crops in soggy fields and for the water quality of Lake Erie that’s affected by pollution sources including rain running off fields carrying fertilizer with it.

Ohio receives 10 percent more rain per year, on average, than we did in the 20th century.

“You can think of it as the ‘new normal,’ ” said Aaron Wilson, climate specialist for Ohio State University Extension, the outreach arm of the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) at The Ohio State University.

Ohio’s current annual average is 42 inches, up 3 inches from the 39-inch average in the 20th century, Wilson said.

“YOU CAN THINK OF IT AS THE ‘NEW NORMAL.’” – AARON WILSON CLIMATE SPECIALIST OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION

Three inches may sound like just a drop in the, well, bucket, but “the problem is the intensity at which the rain is falling,” Wilson said.

The additional 3 inches aren’t spread across the entire year. Instead the bulk of Ohio’s rain is falling in intense rain events, followed by an increase in consecutive dry days, Wilson said.

In July 2017, a rainfall dumped 51/2 inches of rain in two hours within Darke County, in the west central part of the state.

Extreme rain events in which more than 2 inches fall during a rainstorm have increased by 30 paercent in Ohio since the late 1990s, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

That means a lot more water soaking farmland, filling ditches, forming ponds on fields or dribbling off.

So, there’s greater potential for soil and fertilizer washing away from a field and into Lake Erie, which many municipalities rely on for their drinking water.

In the summer of 2017, Lake Erie’s algal bloom level was classified as severe.

“I think that’s why farmers are working really hard on correct timing,” Wilson said regarding farmers applying fertilizer on their fields.

Wilson will address climate change and the impact of more rainfall on farmers and the water quality of Lake Erie during a talk at the Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference, March 6-7. Wilson’s talk on March 6 at 3:35 p.m. will be among numerous presentations at the conference at Ohio Northern University in Ada. Last spring, multiple rainstorms led Ohio farmers to replant the seeds they had sown, some multiple times, because of flooded fields. In the fall, rainfall delayed some harvests.

The increased amount of rain and number of intense rainstorms shows how the climate in Ohio

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RAIN, RAIN continued from pg. 29 and beyond is changing, Wilson said.

Given that, farmers might want to carefully consider how they apply fertilizer, and adopt techniques to prevent erosion so their soil’s nutrients — and the investment they made in them — don’t get flushed away, Wilson said.

“Weather patterns have changed so we can’t just take it for granted that what we did in the past will work well now and into the future,” Wilson said. “The changes and making decisions now and into the more we understand how our weather is changing, future in agriculture.” the better we can be about adapting to these In planning to apply fertilizer to fields, it’s critical to know the forecast for 24 hours and use that to guide when and whether to make the application, Wilson pointed out.

“WEATHER PATTERNS HAVE The first step in becoming resilient to climate CHANGED SO WE CAN’T JUST TAKE changes, Wilson said, is to being aware of what shifts are happening, then figure out ways to adapt to them.

IT FOR GRANTED THAT WHAT WE For more information about the upcoming tillage DID IN THE PAST WILL WORK WELL conference, visit: fabe.osu.edu/CTCon NOW AND INTO THE FUTURE.” Contact Alayna DeMartini at demartini.3@osu. edu. Aaron Wilson, wilson.1010@osu.edu was also a – AARON WILSON source for this article.

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OHIO STATE ATI has been selected to receive an Andrew Heiskell Award in Internationalizing the Community College for its Ghana Research and Education Abroad program. ATI is an entity of The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES).

The Heiskell Awards honor the most outstanding initiatives in international higher education among the 1,400 member campuses of the Institute of International Education (IIE). This year’s winning campuses are notable for their geographic diversity, with campuses in nine U.S. states as well as universities in Ethiopia, South Korea and Russia.

ATI’s Ghana Research and Education Abroad (GREA) program immerses associate degree-seeking students in a month-long experiential learning program in towns near Ho, Ghana, where they develop their research projects. Since the program’s start 15 years ago, 121 ATI students have traveled to small towns in Ghana to study language and culture for four weeks while practicing applied agricultural technologies using a variety of sustainable development strategies. The trip is associated with a semester-long global studies class, and students can earn three additional credit hours for the work they do in Ghana.

“OUR ATI FACULTY MEMBERS DESIGNED THIS PROGRAM TO ENGAGE OUR STUDENTS IN AN IMMERSION EXPERIENCE IN GHANA THAT ALLOWS THEM TO LEARN ABOUT THE ÈWÈ PEOPLE AND CULTURE AND TO EXCHANGE KNOWLEDGE IN AGRICULTURE WITH THE LOCAL FARMERS.”

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According to ATI professor and director Kristina M. Boone, “Our ATI faculty members designed this program to engage our students in an immersion experience in Ghana that allows them to learn about the Èwè people and culture and to exchange knowledge in agriculture with the local farmers. The students, mostly from rural Ohio, emerge from this experience as informed world citizens.”

Typically, six to 11 students take part in the Ghana program each year. GREA participants have received research grants and made dozens of presentations at university, regional and international conferences.

Last year, student Gage Smith won a U.S. Department of State Gilman Award. After working in Ghana for three months, he completed his internship and started the first two 4-H programs in the Volta Region. In addition, four students earned college scholarships, and four earned undergraduate research scholarships. These student success stories have encouraged others to apply, and this year 11 students plan to study in Ghana.

The program’s founder, professor D. R. Elder, has observed that the students’ experiences of working side-by-side with local leaders and farmers have offered them opportunities to care about others, to

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LEFT: Passersby on a lane in Ghana, where Ohio State ATI leads its Ghana Research and Education Abroad (GREA) program.

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| 33

GHANA continued from pg. 33

ABOVE: ATI student Gage Smith started the first two 4-H programs in the Volta Region of Ghana. Smith (right) is pictured with Togbe Kotoku XI, paramount chief of Kpenoe, a town in Ghana.

“THE STUDENTS, MOSTLY FROM RURAL OHIO, EMERGE FROM THIS EXPERIENCE AS INFORMED WORLD CITIZENS.”

– KRISTINA M. BOONE

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learn from them, to share their own expertise, and to participate meaningfully in the essential work of development. ATI students who have taken part in the Ghana program have gone on to have successful careers as social workers, nurses, veterans services providers, agricultural educators, and community leaders who have links to the broader world.

IIE will present the awards at a New York City ceremony on March 16 as part of its annual Best Practices in Internationalization Conference for higher education professionals. Visit IIE’s Best Practices Resource for in-depth profiles of the 2018 Heiskell Award winners.

Shop online at meyerhatchery.com, call us at 888-568-9755 or visit us at 626 SR 89, Polk, OH, 44866

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Ohio State ATI is located on the Wooster, Ohio, campus of CFAES and serves 650 students. In keeping with Ohio State’s land grant mission, ATI provides affordable, accessible associate degree programs that lead directly to employment or bachelor’s degrees.

Contact Frances Whited at whited.16@osu.edu. D. R. Elder, elder48@osu.edu was also a source for this article.

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CREATING BETTER SOYBEANS

Story by | Alayna DeMartini OSU CFAES NEWS

IN ROWS OF PETRI DISHES, soybean roots bathe in fluorescent light, an unremarkable site unless you work in the laboratory where they grow.

The simplicity of the setup belies the complexity of the research that went into creating the roots. For decades, the genes of the seeds that produced these roots have been tinkered with to create a plant that resists a common and highly destructive soybean disease: Phytophthora root and stem rot.

Statewide, the disease accounts for $50 million in losses every year, ranking it as one of the top three most vexing soybean diseases for Ohio farmers.

Phytophthora sojae thrives in wet, warm soil, particularly poorly draining soil, which is common in northwest Ohio.

The soybean roots growing in Leah McHale’s lab at The Ohio State University just might have the genes to fend off the disease. The answer is at least two years away from being determined.

In a month or so, the soybean roots will be exposed to Phytophthora, then watched to see whether they acquire the disease and die. If their resistance changes — getting better or worse — then that means McHale and her colleagues, including soybean pathologist Anne Dorrance, have identified another gene that affects resistance to Phytophthora. That gene then becomes a building block in creating a new variety of soybean seed that can thwart the disease.

A soybean plant carrying that newly identified gene improving resistance will be crossed with another soybean plant with that same gene. Then the resulting seeds will be grown into plants and tested

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for their disease resistance.

And that process will be repeated for a few more generations of plants grown throughout the state and at universities nationwide until McHale and other researchers can definitively say that the plant variety they created will not succumb to Phytophthora. The seed from those plants can then go to market for soybean growers in Ohio and elsewhere.

THE LONG ROAD TO RESISTANCE The journey that begins in a petri dish and ends with a new variety of seed that resists Phytophthora can stretch to five or more years. That’s partly because a soybean has a surprisingly large number of genes, about 66,000 - roughly three times higher than the number of genes humans have. Soybeans are more complex than you might think.

“You think plants, like soybeans, just sit there and grow, but they have to respond to sunlight, lack of rain, pathogens, insects, and other circumstances,” said McHale, an associate professor of soybean breeding and genetics in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) at The Ohio State University.

From 10 to hundreds of different genes are involved in resisting Phytophthora. Some genes have more of an influence than others in whether the plant succumbs to the disease. McHale and Dorrance help identify which combination of genes offers resistance to Phytophthora and create that combination in a single plant by crossing varieties of soybeans. In the simplest of breeding schemes, a resistant variety

SOYBEANS MODIFIED FOR FOOD Across her desk, McHale spreads out sealed plastic bags, each containing a variety of soybeans. Some beans are larger than others, some are smoother and some have dark spots in the center, while others have a lighter spot or none at all. The majority are grown to be ground down and used for animal feed or turned into soybean oil, while some varieties are planted for human consumption in products such as tofu or soymilk.

Along with creating new varieties of soybeans that survive various diseases, McHale and her team are developing seeds that offer other desired qualities including higher yields, protein, oil or sugar content, as well as a soybean that produces a firmer tofu.

It’s impossible to gain all of those desired traits in one soybean seed, plus make the seed able to resist a number of diseases and offer high yields in any location where it is grown. That’s because thousands of genes are involved.

“It’s never going to be a perfect seed,” McHale pointed out. And two factors are always changing: weather and pathogens.

“It’s constantly a moving target,” McHale said.

“Still, we’re always making improvements and those improvements are good for Ohio farmers, and they positively affect the environment by creating soybean varieties that can resist pests, as well as pathogens.”

In 2015, Ohio State released five varieties of soybeans. This year, McHale said, the university expects to release two seed varieties, both of which will offer higher protein for production of foods such as tofu and soymilk.

Although soybean disease research is a slow and exacting process, McHale remains optimistic. “With each release, we make a little bit of progress.”

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may be crossed with say a high-yielding variety, and the emergent plant is tested to see if it indeed offers desired disease resistance as well as high yields.

The DNA of the resulting seeds are then analyzed to determine if they have the set of genes that can fight off the disease. Once that’s done, the seeds with the desired genes are allowed to self-pollinate for several generations, and then each resulting plant is tested to see if it can, in fact, fend off Phytophthora.

As director of the Center for Soybean Research in CFAES and an international authority on soybean diseases, Dorrance tests the varieties of soybeans that McHale creates by exposing them to Phytophthora and seeing how they fare. If a plant survives the exposure, it’s closer to going to market for farmers to purchase.

While CFAES researchers have long been studying Phytophthora and creating soybean seeds that resist it, the disease evolves. A variety of soybean that once resisted Phytophthora, can succumb to a newlyevolved version of the pathogen. So new varieties of soybean seeds are always needed.

“We always have to try to keep one step ahead of the pathogen,” said Dorrance, who has worked for over a decade to identify the genes that contribute to Phytophthora disease resistance.

Every year, Dorrance is called to fields devastated

by Phytophthora. She knows well the signs, the characteristic root rot and brown discoloration at the base of the stem that moves up the stem, killing off the plant.

After years of research, McHale and Dorrance, along with a team of soybean researchers, are in the final stages of locating which of the tens of thousands of genes in the soybean plant are responsible for resistance to Phytophthora.

“We’ve done a lot to get to this point,” McHale said.

As a result, McHale, her colleagues and their graduate student assistants can express and suppress genes that make up a soybean to see how that affects the soybean’s ability to resist the Phytophthora pathogen in the plant roots. The disease attacks the roots first and can infect leaves when infected soil particles are splashed or blown onto the leaves in a storm.

Even though researchers know the location of the soybean genes responsible for resistance, the trait for resistance has low heritability, meaning that the environment weighs heavily on whether the genes will be expressed or not, even if they are present in the plant.

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SPRING AG EVENTS MARCH 08 OARDC PRUNING WORKSHOP This introductory workshop in the Jack & Debbie Miller Pavilion covers basic pruning techniques.

Topics include when to prune, required tools, tool care and making proper cuts. Participants will have the opportunity to practice pruning skills.

(Fruit tree pruning will not be covered). 8am11am, workshop fee is $25 for Friends of Secrest Arboretum members and $30 for non-members.

Registration is required. Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, 1680 Madison Avenue, Wooster.

08 OIL AND GAS ISSUES BRIEFING Join Ashland, Holmes, Knox, Richland and Wayne County Farm Bureaus for an informational meeting about oil and gas leases. Topics to be covered include: energy development trends, lease provisions impacting landowners, getting answers from land agents, landowner groups and legal counsel. Guest Speaker: Dale Arnold, Director of Energy Services, Ohio Farm Bureau. Loudonville High School Cafeteria, 421 Campus Ave., Loudonville, Registration 6:30-7pm, Meeting from 7-8pm. Cost is free for Farm Bureau Members, $25 for non-members. Please pay at the door.

14 FERTILIZER CERTIFICATION/ RECERTIFICATION 12:30-3:30pm, Fisher Auditorium, OARDC, 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster. Fertilizer certification and recertification courses are being offered across the state through Ohio State University Extension.

The certification is aimed at teaching ways to spread fertilizer runs off the land with rainwater and into nearby waters, especially Lake Erie, which has been plagued by high levels of algal blooms.

Since Sept. 30, 2017, certification has been required for anyone who applies fertilizer on 50 or more acres of land. For more information, contact Rory Lewandowski, email: lewandowski.11@osu. edu, 330-264-8722.

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17 SHREVE MIGRATION SENSATION Full day of events centering around the annual start of birding in the Killbuck Marsh Area in Shreve. Guest speakers, workshops, vendor hall and special children’s educational activities.

Shreve Elementary School, Route 226, 8am-4pm, 330-464-4382 www.ShreveOhio.com

21-22 OHIO COMPOST OPERATOR EDUCATION COURSE Wed. 8:30am-3:30pm, Thurs. 8:45am-3:30pm, OARDC, 1680 Madison Avenue, Wooster. Day One - Composting: Principles and Biology, Composting: Raw Materials and Methods, Site Design and Management, Compost Testing, Field and Laboratory Activities, Pile Sampling and Measurements, Effect of Turning, Compost Properties and Networking Event hosted by the Organics Recycling Association of Ohio following class. Day Two - Practical Methods for Odor Minimization, Managing the Operation, Ohio Composting Regulations, Composting Economics and Marketing, Mulching the Landscape, Compost Quality and Analyzing Laboratory Data.

Registration fee includes all materials, continental breakfast, and lunch: $225 for members of the Ohio Recycling Association of Ohio; $275 for non-members. Registration deadline is March 8.

Continuing education credits available.

Questions, contact Mary Wicks, OCAMM Coordinator, wicks.14@osu.edu 330-202-3533.

APRIL 06

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY SHARPENING Kevin Noon sharpens using a repurposed 1923 Singer treadle and techniques he learned as a child. Bring your items that need sharpened

(including: knives, scissors, garden tools, food processor blades, woodworking & salon tools, paper cutters, and more) and let Kevin do the work while you eat or shop.

Prices are $1 per inch of blade (serrated knives are $1.50 per inch). Kevin can also re-tip and re-profile knives.

NoonSharpening.com - Friday, January 12, 2018 10am-1pm - Friday, April 6, 2018 10am-1pm - Thursday, July 19, 2018 10am-1pm - Friday, October 5, 2018 10am-1pm

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25-27 NATIONAL FARM TO CAFETERIA CONFERENCE Duke Energy Convention Center, 525 Elm St., Cincinnati. The Ohio State University Extension will serve as the local host for the conference designed for school districts looking to start or expand a Farm to School program, consumers who want to learn more about local food opportunities, as well as farmers and producers looking for ways to sell fresh, local foods to schools and other institutional cafeterias. The conference will include speakers, workshops, poster presentations, field trips and several short courses. The event will also include a pre-conference forum April 25th to highlight Ohio’s Farm to School program. Registration for the conference is $250 due by March 9, with additional costs for field trips and short courses.

After March 9, the registration fee goes up to $300, plus any additional costs for field trips and short courses. To register or for information on scholarships to attend the conference, as well as other discounted admissions, go to go.osu. edu/farm2school-conference. More information about Ohio Farm to School can be found at farmtoschool.osu.edu.

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10 Where: Jack & Deb Miller Pavilion When: 9:00am - 11:00am Not sure if it is a good plant or a bad plant? Come to the winter weed ID class and find out! This class covers identification of common winter annuals, and control options for them. Time will be spent outside in the gardens, so come dressed for the weather! Registration required. Fee: $10.00 member, $15.00 non-member. Contact: Paul Snyder | 330-263-3761 | snyder.1062@osu.edu

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