Ohio State to hold 13 public outlook meetingsOhio State University professors will go on the road during November and December to present 13 public Agricultural Outlook and Policy programs. The meetings are an annual fall series that’s part of Ohio State's overall Outlook and Policy Program within the Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, according to Stan Ernst, communication specialist and program director for the department. "There will be a little prognostication of what is and will be going on in the different commodity areas," Ernst said. "But, more important is that the presenters will provide background and help in thinking about how policy decisions are being made on a local, state and federal level. (People attending) will learn questions to ask themselves about their own farming operations and agri-businesses and then (they’ll learn) questions they can ask other folks about the entire policy process." Ohio State has sponsored outlook and policy programs for many years. Traditionally, presenters have focused on commodity issues "and we’ll still do that, but the other thing we’ve done in the last couple of years is to bring in other topics that relate to emerging issues and trends that impact Ohio farmers and other agri-businesses," Ernst said. Other issues featured are new technologies. Each Outlook session will feature four presenters that were selected based on county Extension agents’ choices from a list of 22 possible topics. Even though only four topics will be offered at each session, attendees will receive the Ohio Outlook Guide, a published report including information about all 22 topics, Ernst said. Topics range from dairy, grain and livestock outlooks to a discussion on the Farm Bill. Other topics are titled Pharming, e-Agribusiness, Environmental Policy, Anti-Globalization and Free Trade, and Demographics and Food Markets. If you’re interested in attending one of the sessions, you do need to make reservations. Dates and contact phone numbers for the 13 meetings follow:
For more details about each meeting, visit the Featured Links section of OFBF’s Web site at www.ofbf.org. Once the meetings get under way, the Ohio Outlook Guide will be available on the Internet as well. | |