CFAES Give Today
Extension Operations

Ohio State University Extension

CFAES

News and Notes: August 23, 2024

OUR VISION: Ohioans have the knowledge and resources they need to actively engage in creating conditions in which they thrive. 

OUR MISSION: We create opportunities for people to explore how science-based knowledge can improve social, economic, and environmental conditions. 

Helpful hint: You can view each News and Notes issue in its entirety by clicking on the Printer-Friendly Version red button on the right side of that issue's landing page. 

In This Issue:

Leadership Notes

  1. Unique County Visits Around the State Continue this Summer

College Connections

  1. Ohio Berry Field Night at OSU South Centers – Aug. 28

Programming Perspectives

  1. Ag Lender Seminars Set for Oct. 14-18
  2. Women in Agriculture Monthly Webinars
  3. Entomology Seminar Series — Fall 2024

Tech Updates

  1. Email and Storage Changes

Operations/Business of Extension

  1. OSP Office Hours
  2. Minding the Brand: Upcoming Adobe Express Trainings

Celebrating Colleagues

  1. Sew for Others Earns National 4-H Peer Review Status

Professional Development Opportunities

  1. Ohio JCEP Accepting Applications for Professional Development Scholarships and Programing Grants – Deadline Sept. 1
  2. National ESP Conference – Oct. 28-31
  3. A DAY in the WOODS Program To Focus on Night Flyers, In-service Opportunity

Extension Annual Conference

  1. 2024 Extension Conference Update

Health and Wellness

  1. Healthy Team Competition has its Benefits
  2. OHIOval Walking Event 

  1. Unique County Visits Around the State Continue this Summer

    We are just about to wrap up the month of August, and I know it’s been a busy summer for everyone. As always, thank you to everyone for your dedication to the mission of Extension and conducting our work through a tremendous variety of activities over the past several months. There is no shortage of ways we can tell the story of Extension throughout the state; and I appreciate the heart, soul and pride that each of you bring to this organization 

    In addition to the Lake County and Lorain County visits by President Carter during his state tour in mid-July (read the recap from the last issue here), there have been several other unique “VIP” events at a few other Extension county offices recently. 

    On Aug. 9, the HighlandOSU Extension Office in Highland County ribbon cutting ceremony. County office of OSU Extension celebrated its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The commissioners in Highland County paid for the building, with significant input from the local Extension staff on the layout of the office. Discussions began in summer 2022, with groundbreaking in September 2023 and move-in of our staff in July 2024. 

    Thank you to Dean Kress, Beau Ingle with CFAES Government Affairs, Jeff McCutcheon and Pat Bebo representing Extension Administrative Cabinet, area leader Treva Williams, and the entire Highland County staff for hosting the event. Representatives attended from the Highland County commissioners, the Chamber of Commerce, the Extension advisory and support committees, Governor Mike DeWine’s office, U.S. Representative Brad Wenstrup’s office, U.S. Senator J.D. Vance’s office, and several local community banks, hospitals, businesses, and other organizations. 

    Also on Aug. 9, I represented Extension Administrative Cabinet during a visit to the CFAES Wooster campus. The three Wayne County commissioners, the mayor of Wooster, and the city administrator attended the update, which included tours and updates about the campus facilities, research and partnerships, and Extension. Thank you to Frank Becker and John Yost, ANR educators on the Wayne County staff, for providing insight about how local Extension activities are making an impact in the Wooster area.

    Extension professionals in Geauga CountyThe 2024 Congressional Assistants’ Tour made several stops in northeastern Ohio on Aug. 15-16. Many thanks again to the entire staff at the Extension office in Geauga County for hosting several legislative aides and others in government relations for lunch, a tour of the office and grounds, and a discussion of how our local Extension work is making an impact in that area of the state. Staff members attended from the offices of Sen. Sherrod Brown, Sen. J.D. Vance, Rep. Jim Jordan, Rep. Brad Wenstrup, Rep. Greg Landsman, Rep. Troy Balderson, Rep. Emilia Sykes, Rep. Max Miller, and Rep. Michael Rulli. 

    Coming up on Aug. 26 is a visit to the Western Agricultural Research Station in South Charleston. The ANR-focused Extension educators from Champaign, Montgomery, and Clark counties and other CFAES and Extension experts will be on-site, along with the research station manager and staff. Commissioners from Clark County and Champaign County will attend for updates about Extension, swine research projects in collaboration with the College of Veterinary Medicine, integrated pest management and specialty crop research projects, precision engineering and ag technology, weed control, and statewide facilities. 

    Other thoughts for now…For those who have county fairs still in progress or coming up soon, thank you again for your work to plan, prepare and conduct your fair in the midst of school starting and myriad other fall activities, while also hosting county commissioners and other local stakeholders to see the results of our 4-H members’ hard work. We know this adds “extra” to some of your fair tasks, but it’s truly great to see the positive impact of your efforts for our 4-H youth, parents, and volunteers across the state.

    Kindly, David

  2. Ohio Berry Field Night at OSU South Centers – Aug. 28

    Join Extension and college professionals for an Ohio Berry Field Night at OSU South Centers in Piketon on Aug. 28 (5-9 p.m.). Learn more and register here.

  3. Ag Lender Seminars Set for Oct. 14-18

    The OSU Extension Agricultural Lender Seminars will provide professional development to new and experienced ag lenders as well as Extension educators. The dates, locations, and hosts are outlined below: 

    • Oct. 14 – Wooster (Wayne County) – host: John Yost 

    • Oct. 15 – Ottawa (Putnam County) – host: Bruce Clevenger 

    • Oct. 18 – Urbana, OH (Champaign County) – host: Grant Davis 

    • Oct. 18 – Washington Court House (Fayette County) – host: Ken Ford 

    Watch u.osu.edu/aglenderseminars for information to be added. 

  4. Women in Agriculture Monthly Webinars

    The Ohio Women in Agriculture Learning Network continues its monthly virtual meetings on the first Wednesday of every month. September’s topic will be keeping personal and farm finances separate. These meetings are open to Extension professionals who want to learn more about supporting women in agriculture, and the public. More information can be found at go.osu.edu/wiawednesdaywebinars2024.

  5. Entomology Seminar Series — Fall 2024

    Each semester, the Department of Entomology hosts a series of guest speakers. The talks are every Thursday of the semester at 9 a.m. with a mixture of in-person and virtual seminars. Learn more about the spring semester series – including dates, topics, and presenters – here.

  6. Email and Storage Changes

    Ohio State is discontinuing email account forwarding as of Dec. 31, 2024, and adjusting storage allowances for email, OneDrive and Teams as of June 1, 2025. This is to ensure the university is managing these services with fiscal responsibility, as Microsoft changes its pricing for education licensing. How this affects you depends on your role at the university. Learn more here.

  7. OSP Office Hours

    The Office of Sponsored Programs and the CFAES Office for Research and Graduate Education provide scheduled office hours tailored to Extension professionals. These biweekly sessions aim to provide guidance and support for your grant-related inquiries, spanning from proposal submission to the epa-005 process, and encompassing award management. Extension sponsored program officers (SPO), Extension cost center managers, and staff from the Grant Development Support Unit are in attendance to address your questions.  

    We have allocated dedicated time every other week to accommodate your needs, with office hours scheduled from 1 to 2 p.m., offered in 15-minute time slots. 

    To take advantage of this valuable opportunity, follow these steps: 

    1. Register for your preferred time slot through Picktime. 

    1. Include the following information in your registration: 

    • Your full name 

    • Your email address 

    • Your award or grant number 

    • Your specific question or inquiry

    Upon successful registration, you will receive an email confirmation from the CFAES Office for Research and Graduate Education with the Zoom link. 

  8. Minding the Brand: Upcoming Adobe Express Trainings

    Live Adobe Express trainings have been scheduled into the next couple of months. Sessions will be held on the following dates and times: 

    If you are new to Extension or have missed previous messaging about Adobe Express, it is a new tool to help with marketing needs. We have created a robust library of pre-made templates for workshop flyers, social media posts, tri-fold brochures, newsletters, presentations, and many more in the web-based program. Express helps us consistently apply the Ohio State brand in the work Extension does across the state. To access Express, visit new.express.adobe.com to log in. You’ll need your Ohio State credentials to log in.

    If a pre-recorded session is more convenient for your schedule, you can access one here — Express Training Video. 

    Please reach out to Marissa Mullett (mullett.50@osu.edu) with any questions about using Express and navigating to the Extension brand folder. 

  9. Sew for Others Earns National 4-H Peer Review Status

    Sew for Others, an Ohio 4-H curriculum book, recently passed national 4-H peer review. This means it was blind peer reviewed by an independent team of 4-H educators across the country. A “peer reviewed” tag has been added to the listing on the Extension Publishing store. The next time the book is reprinted, the national peer review logo will be included on the inside front cover. The book was also selected as a product on shop4h.org, which means it is being promoted to national 4-H audiences. Congratulations to Jennifer Morlock for her leadership on this project book.

  10. Ohio JCEP Accepting Applications for Professional Development Scholarships and Programing Grants – Deadline Sept. 1

    Ohio JCEP is accepting applications through Sept. 1 for its third (and final) round of professional development scholarships and programming grants for 2024. All current Ohio JCEP members are eligible to receive a scholarship or programming grant, which are awarded three times a year. Ohio JCEP scholarship information and application links can be found here, and grant information can be found here. Click here to access the link to apply.

  11. National ESP Conference – Oct. 28-31

    Epsilon Sigma Phi (ESP) will host its 2024 National Conference Oct. 28-31 at Virginia Beach. Learn more about the conference here.

  12. A DAY in the WOODS Program To Focus on Night Flyers, In-service Opportunity

    The A DAY in the WOODS program will host an evening workshop titled Night Flyers on Sept. 13 (5-9:30 p.m.) at the Vinton Furnace State Forest. Learn more about this in-service opportunity here.

  13. 2024 Extension Conference Update

    There are a few updates regarding the Extension Conference to be held December 10-11 at the Hilton Downtown Columbus. 

    NEW for the 2024 Extension Conference — an Extension Keys Award 

    The Extension Keys Award is open to all Extension employees. The goal is to highlight five individuals who exemplify the core values of trust, care, adaptability, and efficiency and make a difference in every corner of Ohio. We strongly encourage you to nominate your colleagues who embody these qualities. For information on the guidelines and submission of nominees, visit this link. 

    Request for Proposals 

    All Extension professionals are encouraged to submit a proposal for one of the five tracks focused on the Extension Keys: trust, inclusion, care, adaptability, and efficiency. 

    Please review the RFP document before submitting your proposal. Visit go.osu.edu/EC_2024RFPdoc to access the Request for Proposals guidelines and submit your proposal(s). All proposals are due by 11:59 pm on Friday, Sept. 13. 

    Visit the Extension Conference web page for details about registration costs, hotel and lodging, speakers, and more. 

  14. Healthy Team Competition has its Benefits

    The Live Healthy Live Well Team recently shared a blog post that outlines the benefits of participating in healthy team competition – from a youth playing soccer to a work team submitting a big proposal. Read the full article here.

  15. OHIOval Walking Event 

    Join fellow Ohio State faculty and staff on Sept. 25 (11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.) on the Oval for the O-H-I-Oval Walking Event. Can’t join the Columbus campus event? Talk a walk on the same date near your work area and share a photo of yourself with the Health Coaching Team.