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PepsiCo Foods North America today announced its Planting Pathways Initiative, charting an industry-leading and transformative course for expanding agricultural opportunities. Recent USDA Census of Agriculture data shows that farmers under the age of 35 make up just 9% of the U.S. farming industry. The initiative aims to provide opportunities for young people and people from various backgrounds to enter the agriculture sector.
On July 15, OSU Extension Cuyahoga County had the pleasure of hosting 14-member delegation from 14 countries including the People’s Republic of China, Tunisia, Kenya, Kuwait, Poland, Austria, and Bulgaria. The focus was U.S. Agricultural Trade and Food Safety. The Morganic Garden Summer Sprout participants were gracious in allowing us to highlight food security, community building, and soil health.
There was a vibrant discussion on U.S. policies and programs related to agricultural trade, food safety and sustainable agriculture; the political, social, environmental, and economic forces that influence U.S. agricultural trade policies; how U.S. food commodities are regulated and marketed, from farm-to-table to international export; and how federal, regional, and local programs for agricultural research, inspection, trade promotion and resource conservation help ensure U.S. agricultural competitiveness in the global marketplace.
The best part was learning how their countries approach these topics and how many similarities are shared.
Many thanks to the Cleveland Council on World Affairs for the invitation, Dr. Julie Fox, Dr. Jeff Hattey, and Dr. Fernanda Krupek for joining to share their expertise and Tony Brancatelli for being the garden host.
Sourced from Cuyahoga OSU Extension Summer Newsletter
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $5.2 million in 17 new grants that support urban agriculture and innovative production. Grant recipients, including community gardens and nonprofit farms, will increase food production and access in economically distressed communities, provide job training and education, and allow partners to develop business plans and zoning proposals. These grants build on $46.8 million invested in 186 projects since 2020 and are part of USDA’s broad support for urban agriculture through its Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP).
“This grant program has continued to grow in popularity. We received over 620 applications this year, double from last year’s total and we are excited to support urban agriculture and innovative producers and improve access to healthy and nutritious food for local communities with this round of funding.” said Terry Cosby, Chief of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which oversees OUAIP. “These projects support communities by growing fresh, healthy food, providing jobs and increasing access to healthy food in areas where grocery stores are scarce.” Learn more.
Sourced from Morning AgClips
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Join the FaithLands National Conference in Delaware, Ohio at the Methodist Theological Seminary of Ohio(MTSO) from August 6-8, 2024.
National FaithLands advocates from around the country will gather to learn about and enjoy the successful and beautiful 10 acre Seminary Hill Farm located at MTSO. Join a gathering of faith-community leaders and farmer advocates from around the U.S. who are interested in learning and sharing about growing food on lands owned by faith-based communities.
Join for the opportunity to participate in a structured dialogue about:
- Partnership opportunities and successful models of leasing to commercial farms, nonprofits, and more
- How to facilitate beginning, immigrant, and BIPOC farmers accessing thousands of parcels owned by faith-based institutions to grow food for communities
- Affordable Housing Development vs. Farms and Gardens: Can we do both?
Who should attend? Representatives of religious community lay leaders, and organization staff including clergy, farmers, farmer advocates, and university/seminary faculty and students.
Each day of the conference will include tours of sites representing diverse, successful models of growing food on faith community owned lands. Tours on 8/6 and 8/8 will be off-site and participants provided transportation via bus/motor coach. On 8/7 we will be touring Seminary Hill Farm located at the main conference site.
This conference is funded in part with USDA support. For more information and registration, click here.
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On June 20, 2024, Ohio Department of Agriculture Director, Brian Baldridge discussed the State’s efforts to support Ohio’s number one industry, which contributes over $124 billion annually to the economy, and to gain insights into future trends and regulatory frameworks shaping agriculture today and in the future.
Agribusiness Forum June 2024 - "Looking Towards the Future of Agriculture in Ohio"
https://ciftinnovation.org/june-2024-agribusiness-forum-looking-towards-the-future-of-agriculture-in-ohio/ Center for Innovative Food Technology (CIFT)
Julie Fox asked: "What are you seeing with urban ag in Ohio and across your national network?"
Here is Director Baldridge's response: https://youtu.be/2v8-4Vkc3iA?feature=shared&t=1729
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Experience the first-ever National Urban Agriculture Conference on August 4-6, 2024 at Huntington Place Convention Center in Detroit, Michigan.
This will be a national opportunity to celebrate the advancement, investment and dedication to urban agriculture.
The conference will focus efforts to “bridge the gap” for all those working to advance urban agriculture across the nation by building stronger connections among USDA programs and the stakeholders that they serve. This conference will intentionally increase awareness and transparency about USDA programming and bring stakeholders together for training, networking, resource connecting and relationship building.
In-Person Conference Rate: $250
Includes all of the following:
- Pre-conference bus tours and reception on Sunday afternoon (limited capacity)
- Access to all general sessions, panel discussions, and concurrent sessions
- Meals, including breakfast and lunch (Mon/Tues) and a Tuesday evening reception and dinner
- Networking breaks with exhibitors each day
- Intentional, planned time for you to create connections with other professionals who are advancing initiatives in urban agriculture across the United States.
Virtual Conference Rate: $75
A limited number of conference sessions will be available for virtual, live-stream viewing on Monday and Tuesday, August 5-6.
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Ohio State joined other community partners at the 2024 Black Farmers and Urban Gardeners Conference - Cultivating Common Ground in Sustainable Agriculture Ohio, June 27-29 in Central Ohio.
“It was encouraging to see producers learn from one another, from USDA teams, and from community tour hosts,” commented Julie Fox, Ohio State University Director or Strategic Initiatives and Urban Engagement.
The event began with keynote speakers from USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), John Wilson, State Conservationist-Ohio, USDA NRCS and Terry Cosby, Chief, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
A competent urban Extension workforce is critical to extending university research to address today’s complex issues (e.g., affordable housing, poverty, food insecurity, emerging technologies, etc.) in urban areas. However, older models of training the Extension workforce do not always align with current needs. Urban Extension professionals face a different set of challenges than their rural colleagues including large and diverse populations, complex ecosystems of public and private organizations, and navigating the integrated urban-rural interface. These challenges can be difficult to manage using traditional Extension competencies that are based in content area expertise, rely on residents’ existing knowledge of Extension as is typical in non-urban areas, and engage with traditional funders and partners of Extension. Learn more.
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Urban agriculture includes market gardens and small farms within cities that grow crops for sale, but urban agriculture also includes school gardens, community gardens, gardens used to provide nutritious donations for food pantries and also backyard gardens. Urban farms are “small but mighty.” Seventy-six percent of urban farms in Indiana are less than an acre in size, and they contribute significantly to the food system. Still most urban farmers need another source of income besides their farm. This webinar provides details about urban agriculture demographics. Learn about ways the Great Lakes Urban Agriculture Working Group supports urban farmers, the resources that are available, how to join the working group, and the group's ongoing efforts. Speakers were Maggie Rivera (Ohio State) and Laura Ingwell (Purdue). Watch the 37-minute webinar recording.
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Racism is considered a fundamental cause of health inequities, but research on structural racism and health has been limited by lack of data. Since Mapping Inequality digitized New Deal-era redlining maps from the Home Owners' Loan Corporation, there has been an explosion of research examining historic redlining and present-day neighborhood environmental hazards and health. Helen Meier will discuss the application of HOLC maps in population health research and new efforts to characterize historic environmental hazards using the Sanborn Fire Insurance maps. Learn more and register for this July 12 webinar.