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Healthy Communities Start with Healthy Farmers
As Mental Health Awareness Month, May serves as a reminder of the importance of mental wellness. However, we should consider supporting farmers’ and farmworkers’ mental health as a year-round responsibility. Food and agriculture are Ohio’s top industries, employing one out of every seven people in the state. In caring for our communities, health, and environment, many producers navigate challenges like extreme weather events, trade disruptions, market fluctuations, difficult management decisions, trying working conditions, and isolation. These can all take a toll on their mental health, with stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms commonly reported by beginning and experienced farmers alike. Need help right now? If you or someone you know is…
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OEFFA Launches Annual Series of Farm Tours and Special Events
The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) launched its annual Farm Tour Series. The 2026 series includes a number of public farm tours showcasing farms and food processors across Ohio, plus educational and social opportunities with experienced OEFFA staff. This programming opens the door for farmers, gardeners, educators, and food-conscious consumers to learn about local foods and farming firsthand. “Whether you are a farmer, gardener, or eater, OEFFA’s farm tours offer something for you,” said OEFFA Executive Director Khara Strum. “You don’t have to be an expert—or even familiar with organic farming—to enjoy these events. Joining a farm tour is an opportunity to meet the people growing your food…
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Member Spotlight: Purplebrown Farmstead
Originally published in the Winter 2026 edition of the OEFFA newsletter. In 1999, the Countryside Initiative began the important work of re-establishing working farms within Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP). Its mission was to manage and enhance the natural and cultural resources of this unique landscape along the Cuyahoga River corridor between Akron and Cleveland. These farms would demonstrate that agriculture—when done thoughtfully—can be a meaningful tool for ecological restoration, education, and community connection. In response to a request for proposals, Sasha and James Miller submitted an ambitious business plan rooted in permaculture and organic production. In 2016, they were awarded the opportunity to bring their vision to life: to…
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OEFFA Announces 2026 Award Recipients: Debra Knapke, Bonnie Mitsui and Melinda O’Briant
The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) has named the 2026 recipients of its Stewardship and Service Awards. Bonnie Mitsui and Melinda O’Briant of Turner Farm in Hamilton County received the Stewardship Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the cultivation of sustainable agriculture. Debra Knapke of Franklin County received the Service Award, which recognizes extraordinary service in support of sustainable agriculture. “I am honored to recognize this year’s Stewardship and Service Awards at OEFFA. In a time when resources are scarce and tensions are high, these people help remind us of what we stand for, healthy, local food produced in harmony with nature,” said OEFFA Executive Director Khara Strum.…
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47th Annual Ohio Food and Farm Conference Opens Registration
Registration is now open for Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association’s (OEFFA) annual conference! This educational event is now in its 47th year, bringing together farm and food advocates from across the region with educational workshops and community building. The 2026 OEFFA Conference, Finding Common Ground, will take place Friday, February 13 through Saturday, February 15, 2026, at Cherry Valley Hotel in Newark, Ohio. “We are excited to gather in community around sustainable and organic farming in February,” said OEFFA Executive Director Khara Strum. “The last year has been difficult for many and we know how uplifting gathering together can be. Our format this year will allow for greater connection…
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Member Spotlight: The Local Butcher
Originally published in the Autumn 2025 edition of the OEFFA newsletter. Agriculture is an integral part of the Meeks Family. Jenna Meeks has always aspired to educate others about agricultural practices and now teaches on the subject in Meigs County in Southeast Ohio. Her younger brother, Chase, “was born showing animals” and grew up participating in Future Farmers of America (FFA) and 4-H, contributing to his dream of one day owning a butcher shop. Rhonda comes from a family of farmers, and after her husband, Kenny, was encouraged to raise cattle himself, the parents were in a position to help turn Chase’s dreams of a butcher shop into reality. In…
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Important Changes to the 2026 OEFFA Conference
In 1979, a group of 130 farmers and consumers came together around the shared values of keeping family farms healthy and improving access to locally grown organic food. They founded a new organization to further these goals: Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA). This action marked the start of the annual OEFFA conference, bringing together farmers, eaters, and advocates in community and learning. In many ways, the conference is synonymous with OEFFA. The conference has changed greatly in the past 46 years, just as OEFFA as an organization has grown and evolved. Whether taking place in a barn, high school, or convention center, this beloved event is known for…
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Farm Aid Packages Fail to Benefit All Farmers
On Monday, December 8, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the long-awaited farm aid package. The Farmer Bridge Assistance Program will provide $11 billion in one-time payments for major commodity crops, like corn, soybeans, cotton, rice, and barley, and $1 billion will be dedicated to other crops, including specialty crops like vegetables, fruits, and tree nuts. Commodity producers who go through the filing process should know commodity-specific payment rates by the end of the calendar year. There is no timeline or eligibility information available for specialty crop payments. The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) maintains that farm aid packages should benefit all farmers, especially those who…
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OEFFA Farmers Face Impact of Government Shutdown, Other Federal Issues
The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) is a community of sustainable and organic farmers, handlers, producers, and consumers across the U.S. The challenges faced by those in our network are unique to diversified and usually small- or mid-scale farms that provide healthy food to their communities. The government shutdown, tariff negotiations, staffing changes at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and other recent events have specific implications for these farms and the local communities that benefit from their products. We have been actively connecting with individuals who want to share their stories to uplift some of the experiences of those in our community. “I do not know…
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Member Spotlight: Dan Halterman
Originally published in the Summer 2025 edition of the OEFFA newsletter. Dan Halterman considers himself a “global accumulator of wealth.” He’s dubbed his backyard a “nutrient funnel,” where he composts banana peels from Central America, coffee waste collected from a local Starbucks, bags of leaves sourced from neighbors, and produce from California and beyond. All of this nutrition concentrates in Halterman’s backyard garden at his home in the North Linden neighborhood of Columbus. And then he eats it. Before retiring from more than three decades with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, he would have a desktop compost collector at work and tell colleagues as they dropped off apple cores or…
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Ecological Food and Farm News
