Waste to Worth 2022, described as for “those who make or influence environmental management decisions on livestock and poultry farms,” takes place April 18–22 near Toledo. CFAES Dean Cathann A. Kress, OSU Extension climate specialist Aaron Wilson, and Chris Winslow, director of Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Laboratory, will be among the speakers.
food production
On our greatest hope for a sustainable future
Without healthy soil there can be no food. And without any food there can be no life.
That’s the message of an opinion piece by Rattan Lal, Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science in the CFAES School of Environment and Natural Resources and 2020 World Food Prize laureate, that recently ran on the global development website Devex.
‘Innovation is key to addressing the climate crisis’
Conservation measures and climate-smart agriculture got a boost last week with the announcement of a $1.2 million investment by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to fund a robotic irrigation system at CFAES.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack made the announcement during a Dec. 10 visit to the CFAES Waterman Agricultural and Natural Resources Laboratory in Columbus. Pictured at a town hall meeting during the visit are, from left to right, CFAES Dean Cathann A. Kress; Terry Crosby, chief of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service; Vilsack; and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio. (Photo: Ken Chamberlain, CFAES.)
CFAES sustainability news, Dec. 14, 2021
Ohio State News, Dec. 13; featuring USDA Sec. Tom Vilsack; U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown; CFAES Dean Cathann A. Kress; Rattan Lal, Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science, CFAES School of Environment and Natural Resources; and CFAES Waterman Agricultural and Natural Resources Laboratory
I, robot farmer? Discuss …
What will more robotics in agriculture mean for sustainability? It’s one of the topics of this public event set for CFAES Wooster on Dec. 1.
How to hook financing for your fish farm
The Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative and the Ohio Sea Grant program, part of CFAES, are hosting a free webinar on financing options for aspiring and experienced fish farmers. It’s from 4–5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17.
Want fresh fish? Here’s where you can buy it
The new Great Lakes Fresh Fish Finder website, according to our CFAES colleagues at Ohio Sea Grant in their monthly email newsletter, “features businesses where consumers can buy wild-caught and farmed fish and shellfish to eat, for stocking ponds, to use as bait and for ornamental purposes.” Learn more and visit the site.
Preserve Lake Erie, keep farms productive
Ohio State will be the lead partner on a new five-year, multimillion-dollar pilot watershed project in northwestern Ohio designed to demonstrate that agricultural conservation practices—if used on 70% of the farmland in a watershed, and evaluated on a watershed scale—can help achieve Lake Erie’s water quality goals. CFAES researcher Jay Martin will direct the project, set for the Shallow Run watershed in Hardin County.
Read the story. (Photo: Shallow Run watershed, Laura Johnson.)
Farm strength through diversity
Registration is open for the next Environmental Professionals Network breakfast program, “Growing the Future of Agriculture: Conversations with Black Farmers and Educators.” It’s set for Oct. 12, 7:15–9:30 a.m., on Ohio State’s Columbus campus.
Check out the program and lineup of speakers. Register at this link.
CFAES sustainability news, Sept. 21, 2021
Columbus Monthly, Sept. 7; featuring Yolanda Owens, president of CFAES Alumni Society Board, and Jera Oliver, formerly of CFAES Advancement)