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Meeting the Needs of Ohio Organic Grain Growers

Extension Education

Eric Richer
Assistant Professor
Ohio State University Extension
Wauseon

Abstract

Historically, Ohio organic grain growers have had limited opportunities for professional development in organic farm management and agronomy. Nationally, Ohio ranks 5th in the total number of organic farms and 6th in the number of acres in transition to organic. Ohio has over 850 organic grain farmers on 111,000 certified acres.

To address the needs of these growers, the OSU Organic Grains Conference was developed in 2023 with an Extension planning team with input from consultants and growers. The conference, now preparing for its 4th year, focuses on meeting needs of commercial organic grain growers and crop consultants in the Eastern Corn Belt.

This presentation will discuss the conference planning and delivery strategy including development of the educational program, sponsor-vender partnerships, organic food sourcing, and program marketing. It will also summarize the impact data collected from the conferences including knowledge gain and further research needed. Preliminary data from the 2025 conference show that attendees came from seven states and Canada and represented over 49,000 acres of certified organic grain production. Ninety-six percent of farmers surveyed indicated they learned at least one new practice that will improve their farm.

Poster has NOT been presented at any previous NACAA AM/PIC

This poster is being submitted only for display at AM/PIC. Poster is not to be judged, but the abstract will be published in the proceedings.

A poster file has not been provided

Authors: Eric Richer, Cassandra Brown, Osler Ortez, Grant Davis, Kendall Lovejoy, Clifton Martin, Kayla Wyse, Ashley Adair
  1. Richer, E. Associate Professor, Ohio State University Extension, Ohio, 43545
  2. Brown, C. Program Manager, Ohio State University Organic Food & Farming Education and Research Program, Ohio, 44691
  3. Ortez, O. Assistant Professor, Ohio State University Extension, Ohio, 44691
  4. Davis, G. Program Technician, Ohio State University Farm Business Analysis Program, Ohio, 43078
  5. Lovejoy, K. Extension Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Ohio, 43567
  6. Martin, C. Extension Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Ohio, 43701
  7. Wyse, K. Extension Educator, Ohio State University Extension, Ohio, 43506
  8. Adair, A. Extension Organic Specialist, Purdue Extension, Indiana, 47906