Recent Blog Posts
As consumers, do we care if specialty crops are grown in a controlled environment? Do we care if the process is sustainable? Do we care if crops are locally grown?
Last year we published The 2023 Controlled Environment Agriculture Market – How are we evolving? (We recommend reviewing this article, as it provides background for the 2024 review.) This year we are revisiting some discussion points, plus attempting to tackle the changes we saw in just one short year. And boy did we see changes.
This article continues to focus on the U.S. controlled environment agriculture (CEA) industry. But we also look at it from a North American perspective, as we feel like the biggest year-over-year changes come from the fact that the U.S. CEA industry does not operate in a bubble. It is highly influenced by North American growers, as well as vendors, consultants, labor (both blue and white collar), and other centers of influences from around the world, but namely Europe. Read more.
Sourced from Urban Ag News
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing nearly $9 million in funding to local organizations to provide outreach, education and technical assistance to urban agricultural producers in ten U.S. cities. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is partnering with To Improve Mississippi Economics (T.I.M.E.) to administer an urban farm outreach program offering subawards to community groups that work with producers in cities where FSA has established Urban County Committees. Read more.
Sourced from USDA FSA newsroom
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Ohio State University Extension joins in the global recognition of “Urban October,” a campaign led by the United Nations to focus on the opportunities and challenges created by the fast rate of change in cities.
Extension continues to build on local and statewide celebrations in support of Ohio’s diverse metropolitan areas. In 2024, Extension educators developed buttons and stickers to celebrate 4-H programs in Ohio’s largest cities.
A team is exploring ways to further develop activities for “Engaging Youth to Create a Better Urban Future.” Urban October in 2025 will involve youth, campus collaborators, and community partners with a shared interest in healthy urban communities and urban-, suburban-, and rural-relationships.
As part of the university’s Land-Grant mission, OSU Extension engages with all of Ohio’s 88 counties, including the metro areas. For more information about OSU Extension’s Urban October efforts, visit go.osu.edu/urbanoctober.
The annual Stinner Summit will be held November 15 at The Lodge at Hocking College and will focus on healthy Appalachian agroecosystems. Each year, the Stinner Summit gathers farmers, researchers, educators, policy leaders, and organizations from across the state. Learn more and register for the Summit here.
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Which places in America offer children the best chance to rise out of poverty?
The Opportunity Atlas answers this question using anonymous data following millions of Americans from childhood to adulthood. Now you can trace the roots of today's opportunity back to the neighborhoods where people grew up. See where and for whom opportunity has been missing, how it is changing, and use this data to inform local solutions to help more children rise out of poverty. Learn more.
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Since the Industrial Revolution, the U.S. (along with much of the rest of the world) has urbanized. Currently almost 80% of the entire country’s population lives in cities.
However country-wide statistics can mask variations between regions. This graphic maps the share of urban population by state, per latest estimates from the Census Bureau. According to them, an urban area must “encompass at least 2,000 housing units or have a population of at least 5,000 people.” Learn More.
Sourced from Visual Capitalist
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The racial wealth gap is a powerful number—it captures the structural racism that’s been baked into the American economy and social institutions, continued uneven opportunities, and hopes for a future of shared prosperity.
But limited data on wealth exist. Well-respected national surveys like the Survey of Consumer Finances or Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) provide broad insights but don’t allow for the local data necessary to fully understand community members’ lives and the local root causes of wealth disparities. This makes it hard to develop trusted solutions to those problems.
The limited local data we do have are powerful. Recent surveys revealed the average white household in the DC metropolitan area has 81 times the wealth of a Black household. This research catalyzed action across the region, including the creation of DC Council’s Office of Racial Equity, motivating arguments for reparations, powering advocacy for racially just tax and budget decisions, and supporting community wealth building. Learn more.
Sourced from Urban Institute
Register and join the Ohio State Office of Outreach and Engagement for the Engaged Scholarship Symposium! On November 1, this event will highlight faculty, staff, graduate students, and community partners who are co-creating scholarship. Through panel discussions and poster presentations, participants will learn more about the innovative and impactful work of community-engaged scholarship at Ohio State. Learn more.
When: September 27 & 28, 2024
Location: Columbus - The Historic Black Neighborhood (King-Lincoln-Bronzeville)
FRIDAY NIGHT KICK-OFF
Conference Networking Mixer
SATURDAY
Workshops & Hands-On Skill Shares
Self-Guided Urban Agriculture Sites
King-Lincoln Bronzeville District Historic Tours
AgNoire Hosts Meet the Candidates
Gala Awards
EVENT VENUES
African American & African Studies Community Extension Center (CEC) & Maroon Arts Group Box Art Park
905 Mount Vernon Ave, Columbus, OH
&
The Lincoln Theater: Cardinal Ballroom
769 E Long St., Columbus, OH
The Ohio State University Extension (Cuyahoga County) seeks an educator to work collaboratively with county, area, and state teams of OSU professionals and with local agency leaders and volunteers. The educator will be responsible for a broad range of basic to complex duties that could include but are not limited to: Providing guidance and/or leadership for Agriculture and Natural Resources and Community Development, targeted to local and area needs, focusing on urban audiences. Utilize appropriate methods, both formal and informal, of community assessment to identify educational needs and opportunities of local community. Design, implement and teach educational programming, based on these needs, to groups and individuals comprised of adults and/or youth. May also convene and facilitate community coalitions focused on those needs. The Educator may be required to replicate and adhere to existing programs that meet the needs of their local community. The educator will develop promotional material, work with and/or lead committees and volunteers, and establish and maintain partnerships within the community that support the achievement of the program goals. The educator evaluates educational programs and dissemination methods, as well as, utilizes existing evaluation instruments to evaluate the teaching effectiveness, program quality and results of local programs. Participate in discussions with county representatives concerning program funding and may be responsible for the management of the county budget. May also be responsible for securing external funds to support local programming. Participate as a member of county, multi-county, and/or state Extension teams to further the overall mission, vision and values of both Ohio State University Extension and Agriculture and Natural Resources and Community Development.
The educator will focus on urban agriculture operations, implementing trainings, advancing resource utilization, and providing general support to local growers and agribusiness owners. This educator’s work will be a collaborative effort with the Farm Service Agency's Cleveland Urban County Committee and USDA's Urban Service Center, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and other community-based organizations. The educator will focus on improving the sustainability and long-term viability of urban agriculture operations, will facilitate outreach and engagement, online resource access, research and technical assistance, and urban stakeholder data and mapping.
This educator position is located in Cleveland and reports to Ohio State's statewide Urban Agriculture Specialist, with additional support and guidance from Cuyahoga County's Extension leader. This educator will pilot new programs, leverage existing resources, and support statewide urban ag team communications, events, networks, and other emerging developments. To boost and foster the connection to Ohio's urban agriculture community, this educator will help transfer knowledge gained in Cleveland to benefit Ohio's other metropolitan areas that reflects local contexts and priorities.
Learn more. Job # R111248
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