After a two-year hiatus, The great Ohio State Fair is back this week! The 167th edition of the fair will have everything that we are used to when it comes to walks through the barn, the iconic butter cow, some deep-fried food on a stick, concerts, music, Smokey Bear and so much more. On this week's Our Ohio Weekly, learn everything you need to know before getting back to the giant slide, sky glide and foods you have never tried.

Guests - Virgil Stricker, General Manager of the Ohio State Fair
Alicia Shoults, Assistant General Manager of the Ohio State Fair

Leasing property for hunting and similar outdoor recreation has proven for many to be an attractive option when it comes to generating additional revenue for landowners, while also granting greater access to the outdoors. These leases are different from a typical agricultural lease so it's important to consider issues such as liability and managing shared access to the property in the event the land is also going to be used for agricultural or silvicultural purposes. On the next Our Ohio Weekly, we will focus on practical issues landowners, hunters, and other lessees may consider while drafting leases.

Guest - Rusty Rumley, a Senior Staff Attorney at the National Agricultural Law Center.

Ohio Farm Bureau keeps close tabs on many things that may impact their members and their way of life. Most of the time that would be proposed legislation or regulation, but we also keep tabs on litigation at the local, state and federal levels. At Farm Bureau’s recent Ag Day at the Capital, nearly 350 members traveled to Columbus to visit with lawmakers and were invited to a special panel to hear from some very important people, including Supreme Court Justices Pat DeWine and Patrick Fischer, for an inside look at the workings of the highest court in Ohio.

Guests - Ohio Supreme Court Justices Pat DeWine and Patrick Fischer

Recently, the FBI informed the Food and Agriculture sector that ransomware actors may be more likely to attack agricultural cooperatives during critical planting and harvest seasons, disrupting operations, causing financial loss, and negatively
impacting the food supply chain. Why would farmers and the companies they work with be targeted through cyberattacks and what does something of that nature even look like? We get answers from industry experts this hour.

Guests - Michael Moore, Executive Vice President - EFC Systems, Inc.
John Gray, Chief Information Officer, Ohio Farm Bureau

From the continued growth of the H2Ohio water quality initiative to the recent soil test research from The Fertilizer Institute, data shows farmers are making progress in the ongoing efforts to protect clean water throughout Ohio. Two members of the Ohio Farm Bureau team are heavily involved in many of those efforts and on this Our Ohio Weekly get the results of the 2022 Ohio Water Quality Status Report.

Guests - Dr. Larry Antosch, Ohio Farm Bureau senior director of policy development and environmental policy and Ohio Farm Bureau’s Director of Water Quality and Research, Jordan Hoewischer.

What started as an unprecedented meeting between members of American Farm Bureau and America’s cattle organizations has turned into meaningful legislation that is looking to dramatically change how cattle are marketed. These changes would give more transparency to the process and more income for the farmer. On this week’s Our Ohio Weekly, we talk about the issues involving cattle marketing and what is being done in Washington D.C. to give livestock producers a more fair market in the future.

Guests - Scott Bennett, Director of Congressional Relations with American Farm Bureau
Brandon Kern, senior director of state and national policy for Ohio Farm Bureau
Dr. Juan Leon, Chief of the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Division of Meat Inspection

From conservation to disaster assistance, crop insurance to Farm Bill programs, the Farm Service Agency has many important tasks falling under its purview. They work with dairy farmers, livestock producers, row crop farmers, beginning farmers, specialty crop farmers, beekeepers and just about everyone who contributes to the front end of our food supply system. That means there is always something to talk about when it comes to FSA and we will have that discussion with the new executive director of Ohio FSA on the next Our Ohio Weekly.

Guests - Ohio FSA Director John Patterson

Journalism is changing. With the consolidation of small newspapers and mergers of some of Ohio’s larger media outlets, small towns aren’t getting a whole lot of attention these days. But two journalists are looking to rural Ohio for stories and sharing what they find with the entire nation. Emma Davis and Céilí Doyle have covered agriculture, education, broadband, infrastructure and many other challenges and opportunities for Ohio less populated areas. On the next Our Ohio Weekly, meet these off-the-beaten-path reporters and find out what they are learning about rural Ohio.

Guests - Emma Davis reports for Knox Pages and Ashland Source and Céilí Doyle is a writer for the Columbus Dispatch.

The goal of USDA Rural Development is to help improve the economy and quality of life in rural America by offering loans, grants and loan guarantees to help create jobs and support economic development and essential services such as housing; health care; first responder services and equipment; and water, electric and communications infrastructure. They also offer technical assistance and information to help agricultural producers and cooperatives get started and improve the effectiveness of their operations. Ohio’s USDA Rural Development office has a new state director. Meet him on the next Our Ohio Weekly.

Guest - Jonathan McCracken, state director of USDA Rural Development in Ohio

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Rates for depression are higher in rural America than in urban areas and suicide rates among people living in rural counties are 25 percent higher than those in major metropolitan areas. Addressing mental illness is a significant challenge in rural America due to unique barriers that include fewer primary care providers than in cities, as well as a lack of psychiatrists, psychiatric nurse practitioners and broadband internet at home. Over the past few years there has been a major movement to bring mental health in rural America to the forefront, including a new nonprofit to tackle this challenge. On the next Our Ohio Weekly, learn about Rural Minds.

Guests - Jeff Minton, Founder of Rural Minds