News and Notes: January 5, 2024

As of Jan. 1, there are some changes in area leader assignments. Beth Smith, educator, 4-H youth development in Mahoning County, is now also serving as the Area 6 interim area leader. This area encompasses Ashtabula, Lake, Geauga, and Trumbull counties. Beth is replacing Lee Beers, who is returning full-time to his position as educator, agriculture and natural resources in Trumbull County. Beth can be reached at smith.11958@osu.edu.

Nate Arnett, area leader for Area 15 and educator, 4-H youth development at Adventure Central, is now also serving as the Area 11 interim area leader. This area encompasses Darke, Mercer, Miami, Preble, and Shelby counties. Nate is replacing Kara Colvin, who is returning full-time to her position as educator, 4-H youth development in Warren County. Nate can be reached at arnett.67@osu.edu.

Thank you to Lee and Kara for your service as area leaders to date, and to Beth and Nate for stepping up to handle the interim roles during this year. An up-to-date Extension organizational chart is available at extension.osu.edu/people — including a complete list of the current Extension leadership team and area leaders. You can also visit extops.cfaes.ohio-state.edu/about-operations/area-leaders to access direct contact information for all area leaders.

The Farm Financial Management and Policy Institute (FFMPI) is accepting applications for affiliated staff and faculty members (affiliate status is a designation for faculty and staff who are not hired to directly work for FFMPI). Individuals will be selected based on their demonstrated interest in the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, and Extension outreach in the areas of farm management and agricultural policy.

Benefits of becoming an FFMPI affiliated faculty or staff member include:

1. The ability to build internal and external networks and develop potential outreach and research collaborations.

2. The opportunity to apply for grant funding through FFMPI and for dollars generated by FFMPI through external partners.

3. The ability to develop or join an interdisciplinary team receiving financial support to work on strategic educational outreach and research opportunities that advance FFMPI’s farm management and policy strategic plan.

4. The opportunity to share research findings and educational outreach accomplishments of FFMPI faculty and staff, their students, and collaborators for communications or marketing purposes.

5. The opportunity to engage in Extension outreach and research activities and events.

6. The opportunity to appear in an FFMPI searchable directory.

To learn more about becoming an affiliate faculty or staff member, click here. Contact David Marrison, FFMPI interim director, for more information.

Extension and the USDA Midwest Climate Hub are partnering to improve understanding of opportunities and barriers for climate-informed agricultural Extension programming across the Midwest. The project, nicknamed Climate Ready Midwest and led by Aaron Wilson from OSU, will empower Extension to address climate-informed agricultural programming needs. Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Purdue are all involved in providing expertise and resources to this project. Check out the project webpage for progress and project deliverables. Sign up to be notified about future project updates here.

Registration is now live for the Basics of Grain Marketing Workshop on Feb. 8 and 9 in Marysville. This workshop is sponsored by grower checkoff funds supported by the Ohio Soybean Council and Ohio Corn & Wheat via the OSU Extension Farm Financial Management and Policy Institute (FFMPI). Space is limited to 35 participants, and the cost is $100 per person.

There will be a Zoom option specifically for Extension personnel. The workshop will primarily focus on the attendees in the room, but Zoom will be a great way to experience the workshop and learn grain marketing content from the teaching team. There is no charge for Extension professionals. If you are interested in attending via Zoom, email Bruce Clevenger (provide him with name, email address, phone, and county/unit name) and he will send you the link at a later date. For now, mark your calendar for Feb. 8 (9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.) and Feb. 9 (8 a.m.-3 p.m.). For more information, visit go.osu.edu/grainmarketing.

Ohio JCEP is accepting applications through Feb. 1 for its first 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.

The new Extension Data Portal will launch early the week of Jan. 8, replacing the Extension portion of Vita. This system will provide a streamlined data entry process and enhanced reporting functionality. Online training for the system will be available as of Jan. 9 through Carmen Canvas, and training is required before access to the system is granted. In addition, you will need to complete your Institutional Data Policy (IDP) training prior to accessing the new system. Visit go.osu.edu/IDP-enroll to check whether you are up to date with your IDP training.

In addition to the online training, Learning and Organizational Development will offer three webinars to introduce the system and answer questions. Please register for one of these sessions below:

• Jan. 10 (1 p.m.) — go.osu.edu/EDPintro_1-10_1pm

• Jan. 25 (10 a.m.) — go.osu.edu/EDPintro_1-25_10am

• Jan. 29 (2 p.m.) — go.osu.edu/EDPintro_1-29_2pm

Your Feelings Matter, 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. Kudos to Jami Dellifield and Amanda Raines for their leadership on this curriculum.

Tai Chi classes for beginners are being offered through Extension on Tuesdays and Thursdays (1:30-2:15 p.m.) from Jan. 16 through March 7. Click here to register. There is no fee to participate, but you must register to receive the Zoom link.