Recent Blog Posts
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.
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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.
Adults who continuously played organized sports through their youth have fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression than those who never played or those who dropped out, a new study finds. And those who dropped out of sports had poorer mental health than those who never played at all. But many more people drop out of youth sports than play continuously until they are 18, said Chris Knoester, senior author of the study and professor of sociology at The Ohio State University. “If you play and stick with sports, it’s a positive for your mental health, but if you play and drop out it seems to be negative – and most kids drop out,” Knoester said. Read more.
The 233 participants at the 2024 Urban Food Systems Symposium represented 26 states and 4 countries. The Symposium was held at the Hyatt Regency Columbus June 11-13.
The purpose of the symposium was to bring together a national and international audience of academic, non-profit, government, and research-oriented professionals to share and gain knowledge on how to build coalitions to adapt to this changing world and how urban food systems contribute to these solutions. The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) hosted the symposium. The event included keynotes, a grower panel, 40 presentations, a reception with more than 30 posters, a choice of five tours, and dinner and tours at Waterman, a unique 261-acre university facility for teaching, research, and community engagement.
Here is the complete Urban Food Systems Symposium website along with specific links to the Symposium Program and the Book of Abstracts.
This interview with keynote speaker Qiana Mickie and UFSS co-chair Mike Hogan was shared through NPR during the Symposium.
The 2026 Urban Food Systems Symposium will be held in the fall in Kansas City.
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Over the past 20 years, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has been committed to the work of preventing childhood obesity and improving healthy food access for all children and families. There is a new funding opportunity for organizations working toward the same goal. RWJF has an open call for proposals that aim to address structural racism, advance better health for all, and improve health and nutrition outcomes in the communities most impacted by these systemic issues. Learn more about how to submit. If the National Urban Research & Extension Center can support an aspect of your project, please reach out to Brad Gaolach.
On May 2, The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences hosted faculty from Central State University. In attendance were two educators from Central State University who shared about their research, including their collaboration efforts. In additional to other Ohio State faculty in attendance, Fernanda Krupek shared urban ag and food system updates. Overall, it was a great workshop with connections for the future.
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