CFAES sustainability news, May 17, 2022

Science, May 16, 2022; featuring Rattan Lal, School of Environment and Natural Resources

Yale E360, May 10, 2022; featuring Joyce Chen, Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics

Phys.org, May 8, 2022; featuring Justin Chaffin, Stone Lab

How to use manure, protect environment

Manure happens. And when it does, there are ways you can use it that help crops grow and yet also protect the environment.

That’s the premise of Waste to Worth 2022, set for April 18–22 near Toledo, which will share the latest science on animal agriculture and environmental stewardship.

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Get all the latest on conservation tillage

Wondering how climate change may affect agriculture, food quality, and public health? Want to learn how tile drainage impacts river flashiness? Or what kinds of insects are beneficial for sustainable agriculture? The answers to these questions and more will be discussed during the annual Conservation Tillage and Technology Conference (CTC), held March 8–9 in Ada, Ohio. The conference is presented by CFAES and other supporters.

Read the full story. (Photo: Reduced tillage corn, Getty Images.)

Where things stand on carbon science

What’s the state of the science when it comes to sequestering carbon in the soil, such as through farming? Check out an official position statement issued by CFAES’ renowned Rattan Lal Center for Carbon Management and Sequestration. The brief statement, released Aug. 2, summarizes where the science is clear, where it’s less so, and a strategy for going forward. It mentions, too, a current hot topic, farmers earning carbon credits.

Read the full statement. (Photo: Getty Images.)

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).

What research shows about how to improve soil health

CFAES’ Organic Food and Farming Education and Research (OFFER) program hosts a free public webinar, “Management Practices That Impact Soil Health and Organic Matter,” by Christine Sprunger, assistant professor in the CFAES School of Environment and Natural Resources, at 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 17. It’s part of a weekly series by OFFER. Learn more.

CFAES sustainability news, Feb. 1, 2021

Educator tackles food insecurity in county

Youngstown Vindicator, Jan. 31; featuring Robin Adams, OSU Extension, Mahoning County

Improved soil health linked to nitrogen fertilizer efficiency

Ohio’s County Journal, Jan. 28; by Jordan Wade, Steve Culman, Cassandra Brown, OSU Extension

Gardening: By giving soil proper care, gardeners can enjoy the fruits of their labor

Columbus Dispatch, Jan. 31; by Mike Hogan, OSU Extension, Franklin County

Global pandemic doesn’t stop water quality research

Ohio’s Country Journal, Jan. 21; featuring Chris Winslow, Ohio Sea Grant, Stone Laboratory

Major new effort announced to restore soil

In heavily farmed parts of Central America, South America, and across the Caribbean, “the most degraded soils have not reached the point of no return. They can still be restored.”

So says CFAES’ Rattan Lal, Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science and 2020 World Food Prize laureate, who’s helping lead a new, 34-country initiative to tackle that restoration.

Why it’s important: Some 36 million people in the region don’t have enough good food to eat, and degraded soils play a role in it. Success, Lal says, will mean “we can eliminate hunger and malnutrition in the region, and we can protect the natural resources that are now being degraded.”

Read the story.

CFAES sustainability news, Dec. 9, 2020

The world’s soil champion

Wicked Leeks (UK), Dec. 4; featuring Rattan Lal, School of Environment and Natural Resources

Scientist Linda Saif has been a trusted partner during pandemic

Farm and Dairy, Nov. 28; featuring Linda Saif, Food Animal Health Research Program

COVID-19 pandemic worsening food insecurity

Farm and Dairy, Nov. 26; featuring Zoe Plakias, Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics