News and Notes: July 7, 2023

The OSU Extension office in Ashtabula County and the Ashtabula County Farm Bureau found an innovative and fun way to educate residents on mental health. They organized a dinner theater.

Earlier this year, more than 50 Ashtabula County residents attended the program that featured a short play at the Pymatuning Valley High School Cafeteria in Andover. The audience included farm families and agricultural professionals who work with farmers every day. The play was performed by local community members.

To learn more about the event and mental health resources available, click here.

If you would like to host a Mental Health Dinner Theater in your county, contact Andrew Holden (holden.155@osu.edu) or Bridget Britton (britton.191@osu.edu).

The Ohio Women in Ag virtual webinar series is held the second Wednesday of each month. This program is designed for women who want to learn more about ag, grow their own knowledge, inspire themselves and others, connect with women in ag, and empower themselves and others. Join Bonnie Ayars, Ayars Family Farm Ice Cream and Extension dairy program specialist, on July 12 (10:30 a.m.) as she shares how her family worked together to build a brand and farm-to-school on-farm education on their dairy operation in Mechanicsburg, Ohio. Register at this link one time for the entire series -- osu.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_AHIeEenHSmyDqqFfGlyUcA#/registration

Join Extension professionals for a two-part, online and in-person hybrid workshop to take a closer look at innovative production techniques for specialty crops. The program will be held on Thursday, July 27 – with part one (via Zoom) starting at 9:30 a.m. and the second part (in person) at the Ohio State South Centers starting at 5 p.m. Program emphasis will be on long cane raspberries and tomatoes, and new types of cover crops to promote healthy soils. Click here for a full program flyer. To register for this free event, visit go.osu.edu/fieldnight. 

The 2023 Income Tax School schedule has been set. In addition to the traditional two-day income tax schools, four-part webinar series, and ag tax issues webinar, there will be a summer update and a new Introduction to Tax for the Beginning Tax Professional Workshop. This new course will focus on the 1040 and is intended to provide attendees with a strong foundation in Form 1040 preparation by using real world scenarios. A detailed list of Income Tax School dates and locations can be found at farmoffice.osu.edu/tax/income-tax-schools.

All of these course offerings are available to Extension professionals for free. To register for any of these schools, contact Barry Ward (ward.8@osu.edu) or Jeffrey Lewis (lewis.3516@osu.edu). There is no need to register through the website, because it will charge a fee. 

Click here for a PDF overview.

OSU Extension’s new Community Development program, Building an Entrepreneur-Friendly Community (BEFC), is ready to be shared in communities across the state that want to unlock the potential of local business development.

Customized specifically for each community, this flexible curriculum can be delivered directly to local participants by the BEFC team or can be shared in a train-the-trainer format for those interested in facilitating this process themselves.

BEFC will help local community and business leaders; understand the contribution of entrepreneurs to their local economy and jobs, identify and plan strategies that can help grow local entrepreneurs, and position their community as an environment supportive of/conducive to entrepreneurial success.

BEFC will empower leaders to build capacity and promote entrepreneurship through; understanding of entrepreneurs’ needs, creation of a community economic profile, awareness of federal, state, and local programs that support entrepreneurs, and creation of an entrepreneur-specific strategic plan to create an entrepreneur-friendly community. 

Anticipated program outcomes: 

• Communities will nurture an environment conducive to the creation, growth, and success of entrepreneurs and small businesses. 

• Communities will better understand their local economy by receiving sectoral and demographic profiles through an Entrepreneurship Wellness Profile identifying gaps and opportunities.

• Local leaders will understand their critical role in building an entrepreneurial culture.

• Local leaders will build capacity to promote entrepreneurial growth by developing key program competencies.

• Communities will build a roadmap (strategic plan) to follow in their entrepreneur development initiatives.

For more information, visit go.osu.edu/BEFC or contact any of the BEFC team members below:

Nancy Bowen-Ellzey (bowen-ellzey.1@osu.edu), field specialist, community economics

Myra Moss (moss.63@osu.edu), educator, community development

Becky Nesbitt (nesbitt.21@osu.edu), educator, community development

Gwynn Stewart (stewart.1818@osu.edu), educator, community development

Kyle White (white.2811@osu.edu), educator, community development

In memoriam: We would like to acknowledge our colleague and friend, Godwin Apaliyah, Extension educator, community development, who was a member of this team and instrumental in helping to develop and present this program.

Thank you for your participation and input into the search for our next assistant director for Agriculture and Natural Resources. We would like to provide you with an update on the status of the search. After careful consideration of your feedback, it was determined that we have not identified the candidate of choice for the position yet. We will move forward with this search, so please continue in your efforts to help recruit our next Agriculture and Natural Resources leader. The position posting is available here.

Whether you’re new to Extension or a seasoned professional, right now is a good time to make sure your email signature reflects the current university brand. Click here to be directed to Ohio State’s quick and easy email signature generator.

The NEAFCS Endowment Committee recently awarded two members, one of whom is from Ohio, with grants through its NEAFCS Endowment. The award winners are:

Margaret Jenkins, Ohio 

• Project Title: Ohio Alliance for People-Centered Sciences 

• Project Synopsis: Create an Ohio Alliance for Family and Consumer Sciences modeled after the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences National Partnership for Recruiting, Preparing, and Supporting FCS Educators by embracing and activating Ohio’s statewide people -- centered network of organizations and supporters. 

• Grant Amount: $3,000 

• Click here to read the grant proposal 

Shauna Henley, Maryland 

• Project Title: An Exploratory Study to Identify the Need and Interest in Consumer Home-Canning of Seafood, and Provide Preliminary Results Towards Validating a Novel Consumer Canning of Low-Acid Seafood Recipe 

• Click here to read the grant proposal

The Office of Sponsored Programs and the CFAES Office for Research and Graduate Education is offering scheduled office hours for Extension professionals. The goal of these weekly office hours is to answer questions that you have about grants, ranging from proposal submission to the epa-005 process, through award management. The office hours are held weekly from 1-2 p.m. in 15-minute time slots.

If you are interested in this opportunity, register via Picktime. Indicate your preferred date and time and include your name, your email, your award or grant number, and your question. You will receive an email confirmation of your registration from the CFAES Office for Research and Graduate Education.