January/February 2021 Our Ohio magazine

Never has a brand new year felt more welcome.

This sentiment is reflected in Executive Vice President Adam Sharp’s column Across the Table in the January/February issue of Our Ohio magazine. Sharp charts a forward-looking course for Ohio Farm Bureau and our members in the latest issue.

In 2020 the Farm Bureau annual meeting was held remotely, with small groups also meeting throughout the state. Much of the program was available online to all members. Inside the magazine we take a look back at the first-ever virtual event with stories about policy initiatives, new or re-elected board members and how county delegates safely met throughout the state during the pandemic. The January/February issue also takes a look back at a year in which COVID-19 dominated every facet of life through a four-page Year in Review.

A new year-long series titled Strengthening Communities draws attention to community and business initiatives that are taking place to help bring economic stability or rebirth to rural areas and small towns across the state. The story in this issue centers on the plethora of attractive careers, both on and off the farm, available to youth interested in a future job in agriculture.

Speaking of careers, the January/February issue of the magazine includes a feature about the state-of-the-art beef cattle training facility recently opened to students at OSU’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences Wooster Campus. Also, Ag 101 this issue features three high school ag educators who were finalists for Nationwide’s Golden Owl award last year. They speak to the challenges of teaching a subject as hands-on as agriculture both remotely and socially distanced in person this school year.

Big Fish Farms is also featured in the first issue of the new year. The free-range caviar farmers in southwest Ohio have created a marketing niche for their top-shelf delicacy, harvested from homegrown American paddlefish.

Finally, we welcome a new crop of student chefs from the Lorain County Community College Culinary Arts program for Our Ohio recipes in 2021. Many of the dishes are old favorites created with a new spin, but there are some challenges thrown in this year as well.

These are just the highlights of what members will find in the latest issue of Our Ohio magazine, a benefit of Farm Bureau membership and Our Ohio supporters. A digital edition is also available.

Labor has always been an issue, mainly because we are a seasonal operation. So that's a challenge finding somebody who only wants to work three months out of a year, sometimes up to six months.
Mandy Way's avatar
Mandy Way

Way Farms

Farm Labor Resources
I appreciate the benefit of having a strong voice in my corner. The extras that are included in membership are wonderful, but I'm a member because of the positive impact to my local and state agricultural communities.
Ernie Welch's avatar
Ernie Welch

Van Wert County Farm Bureau

Strong communities
I see the value and need to be engaged in the community I live in, to be a part of the decision-making process and to volunteer with organizations that help make our community better.
Matt Aultman's avatar
Matt Aultman

Darke County Farm Bureau

Leadership development
Farm Bureau involvement has taught me how to grow my professional and leadership experience outside of the workforce and how to do that in a community-centric way.
Jaclyn De Candio's avatar
Jaclyn De Candio

Clark County Farm Bureau

Young Ag Professionals program
With not growing up on a farm, I’d say I was a late bloomer to agriculture. I feel so fortunate that I found the agriculture industry. There are so many opportunities for growth.
Jenna Gregorich's avatar
Jenna Gregorich

Coshocton County Farm Bureau

Growing our Generation
Knowing that horticulture is under the agriculture umbrella and having Farm Bureau supporting horticulture like it does the rest of ag is very important.
Jared Hughes's avatar
Jared Hughes

Groovy Plants Ranch

Groovy Plants Ranch
If it wasn't for Farm Bureau, I personally, along with many others, would not have had the opportunity to meet with our representatives face to face in Washington.
Austin Heil's avatar
Austin Heil

Hardin County Farm Bureau

Washington, D.C. Leadership Experience
So many of the issues that OFBF and its members are advocating for are important to all Ohioans. I look at OFBF as an agricultural watchdog advocating for farmers and rural communities across Ohio.
Mary Smallsreed's avatar
Mary Smallsreed

Trumbull County Farm Bureau

Advocacy
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