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  • OEFFA Press Releases

    Ohio Legislature Passes HB 65, Officially Recognizing Ohio Soil Health Week

    July 2, 2025 /

    House Bill 65, the Agriculture Appreciation Act, passed the Ohio legislature on June 24, 2025, and was signed into law by Governor DeWine yesterday, on July 1. The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) and members of its Ohio Soil Health Initiative (OSHI) celebrate the passage of this bill and the opportunities that come with it.  The bill makes several specified day and week designations relating to agriculture, including recognizing the second full week of November as “Ohio Soil Health Week.” OEFFA thanks Sen. Tim Shaffer for his 2024 amendment recognizing Ohio Soil Health Week and applauds Reps. Klopfenstein and Peterson for reintroducing the bill this session. Ohio Soil Health Week celebrates…

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    Heather Seely Comments Off on Ohio Legislature Passes HB 65, Officially Recognizing Ohio Soil Health Week

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    Crop Insurance

    OEFFA Launches Member-Driven Crop Insurance Platform

    April 24, 2023
    OEFFA Conference 2023

    OEFFA Announces 2023 Award Recipients: Jeff Dean, Jeff Dickinson, Scott Myers

    March 16, 2023

    Statement: Budget Reconciliation Bill Threatens Passage of Much-Needed Farm Bill

    June 26, 2025
  • OEFFA Press Releases

    Statement: Budget Reconciliation Bill Threatens Passage of Much-Needed Farm Bill

    June 26, 2025 /

    On May 22, 2025, House Republicans passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. This budget reconciliation legislation would slash critical support systems for families, increase funding for agricultural subsidies inaccessible to most farmers, and imperil the likelihood of farm bill reauthorization.  As the bill moves through Congress, the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) urges the Senate to reject it and its potential to devastate the farm bill coalition and threaten the passage of a desperately needed new farm bill.  Since the reauthorization of the 2018 Farm Bill, the cost of living has increased, requiring more families and communities to stretch resources and make difficult decisions when purchasing food.…

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    Heather Seely Comments Off on Statement: Budget Reconciliation Bill Threatens Passage of Much-Needed Farm Bill

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    46th Annual Ohio Food and Farm Conference Opens Registration

    December 9, 2024

    Khara Strum Joins OEFFA as Executive Director

    May 1, 2024

    OEFFA Launches 2025 Farm Tour and Workshop Series

    May 12, 2025
  • OEFFA Press Releases

    Farmers, Organizations Impacted by Funding Freeze Ask USDA to Honor Farmer Contracts

    May 14, 2025 /

    Since January, billions in lawfully signed federal funding contracts have been frozen for review or cancelled. As the situation unfolded, the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) surveyed our community to assess the impact. We interviewed three respondents, briefly capturing their experiences in the short video below [transcript here]. As farmers prepare for each growing season, they must make decisions with a large degree of uncertainty in the outcomes. How the weather, market, seeds, and soil respond is out of their hands. Despite their experience and planning, every year is a gamble that their yields will be what they need. Farmers must always tolerate uncertainty; however, this growing season…

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    Heather Seely Comments Off on Farmers, Organizations Impacted by Funding Freeze Ask USDA to Honor Farmer Contracts

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    46th Annual Ohio Food and Farm Conference Opens Registration

    December 9, 2024

    OEFFA Launches 2025 Farm Tour and Workshop Series

    May 12, 2025

    Khara Strum Joins OEFFA as Executive Director

    May 1, 2024
  • OEFFA Press Releases

    OEFFA Launches 2025 Farm Tour and Workshop Series

    May 12, 2025 /

    The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) announces its annual Farm Tour and Workshop Series. The 2025 series of public tours and workshops includes a number of events showcasing organic and ecological farms in Ohio and one in West Virginia, plus educational and social opportunities. This programming opens the door for farmers, gardeners, educators, and conscious consumers to learn about local foods and farming firsthand. “OEFFA is excited about this year’s farm tour series and grateful to our farmer members and partners who are sharing their experience and expertise with anyone interested in learning more about farming, where our food comes from, and why healthy soil is so important…

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    Reilly Wright Comments Off on OEFFA Launches 2025 Farm Tour and Workshop Series

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    Cattle

    Senator Brown, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen Local Meat Processing Support, Bolster Resilient Food Systems

    February 10, 2023

    Khara Strum Joins OEFFA as Executive Director

    May 1, 2024
    Crop Insurance

    OEFFA Launches Member-Driven Crop Insurance Platform

    April 24, 2023
  • OEFFA News

    Mental Health Awareness Month: Resources for Farmers

    May 6, 2025 /

    May is Mental Health Awareness Month, making it a good time to center our farmers and recognize all they go through to feed our communities and steward our land. Farmers carry a lot on their shoulders—climate unpredictability, market fluctuations, stress, isolation, and uncertainty. This is a heavy load to bear alone. That’s why we’ve prepared some mental health resources for farmers. If you are experiencing a crisis, call 988 to talk to a caring counselor. You are not alone. Breaking the Stigma Agriculture is Ohio’s top industry. Farmers give their all to keep the industry strong and our communities fed. Many factors are out of farmers’ control, and that can…

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    Heather Seely Comments Off on Mental Health Awareness Month: Resources for Farmers

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    OEFFA Policy Program Transition

    October 27, 2023

    OEFFA Policy Announces 2024 Film Screening Series

    January 3, 2024

    A Letter from the OEFFA Board

    August 8, 2023
  • OEFFA Member Spotlight

    Member Spotlight: OEFFA Authors

    March 11, 2025 /

    Originally published in the Winter 2025 edition of the OEFFA newsletter. As rich as the lands we grow on, the OEFFA community is also an abundant source of education and inspiration. We are fortunate to have members who share their expertise in myriad ways, including through the written word. For this member spotlight, we connected with three OEFFA authors. Deborah Fleming, Ashland County Deborah Fleming is an important voice for Ohio agriculture and our environment. The first essay she wrote was inspired by an interaction that many of us could likely relate to. After telling someone she was from Ohio, she was met with their grimacing face. Ohio has a…

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    Heather Seely Comments Off on Member Spotlight: OEFFA Authors

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    Member Spotlight: Ed Snavely of Curly Tail Organic Farm

    February 26, 2024

    Member Spotlight: Yellowbird Foodshed

    December 14, 2024

    Member Spotlight: Ava Johnson of SE Urban Farm

    November 17, 2023
  • OEFFA Stories

    TOPP Mentorship Spotlight: Nanda Kishore Methuku

    February 28, 2025 /

    By Lindsey Marshall, Midwest Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) Intern Originally published in the Winter 2025 edition of the OEFFA newsletter. How does one become a farmer? Many farmers in the United States inherit their farms through generations, continuing the family legacy. Others acquire their farms through succession, a process where farms are passed down to new families or individuals.  However, a small percentage are first-generation farmers. Beginning farmers account for only 30 percent of producers in America, and an even smaller fraction are beginning organic farmers. Starting a farm is challenging, with financial hurdles and market volatility posing significant barriers.  Nanda Kishore Methuku started his career as a…

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    Reilly Wright Comments Off on TOPP Mentorship Spotlight: Nanda Kishore Methuku

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    Land Legacy

    From Friendship to Land Legacy Preservation: A Tale of Non-Heir Land Transfer

    July 3, 2023
  • OEFFA Press Releases

    OEFFA Announces 2025 Award Recipients: Dave Shively, Amalie Lipstreu, Molly Sowash, CJ Morgan

    February 18, 2025 /

    The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) has named the 2025 recipients of its Stewardship, Service, and Beginning Farmer awards.   Dave Shively of Henry County received the Stewardship Award, which recognizes outstanding contributions to the cultivation of sustainable agriculture; Amalie Lipstreu of Licking County received the Service Award, which recognizes extraordinary service in support of sustainable agriculture; and Molly Sowash and CJ Morgan of Athens County received the Beginning Farmer Award, which recognizes innovation and commitment to overcome systemic barriers faced by new farmers. “This year’s awards winners are a testament to OEFFA’s strong, enduring community. Not only do they find ways to break through barriers, they share their…

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    Reilly Wright Comments Off on OEFFA Announces 2025 Award Recipients: Dave Shively, Amalie Lipstreu, Molly Sowash, CJ Morgan

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    OEFFA Launches 2025 Farm Tour and Workshop Series

    May 12, 2025

    Clintonville Farmers Market to Showcase Local Food Systems During National Farmers Market Week

    August 10, 2023

    First Annual Ohio Soil Health Week to Take Place November 10-16

    October 29, 2024
  • OEFFA Member Spotlight

    Member Spotlight: Yellowbird Foodshed

    December 14, 2024 /

    Originally published in the Autumn 2024 edition of the OEFFA newsletter. In many ways, Yellowbird Foodshed is a model for how our food system should work. Local, sustainable farmers are fairly paid and have stable access to the market, and eaters can access healthy food that connects them to home. A foodshed, after all, is the region that produces food for its population. For Yellowbird Foodshed, that population is Ohioans.  As I toured their Mount Vernon, Ohio facility, Yellowbird Foodshed (YBFS) co-founder Benji Ballmer pointed out that it had once housed antiques. When Ballmer first arrived, he brought a dry-erase board to his new office and wrote: “Mission: to decentralize…

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    Heather Seely Comments Off on Member Spotlight: Yellowbird Foodshed

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    Member Spotlight: Ava Johnson of SE Urban Farm

    November 17, 2023

    Member Spotlight: The Stratton Family behind Truest Farms

    September 21, 2024

    Member Spotlight: OEFFA Authors

    March 11, 2025
  • OEFFA Press Releases

    46th Annual Ohio Food and Farm Conference Opens Registration

    December 9, 2024 /

    Registration is now open for Ohio’s largest sustainable agriculture conference. Now in its 46th year, this three-day event brings together hundreds of farm and food advocates from across the nation. The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association’s (OEFFA) annual conference, Boldly Grow, will take place Thursday, February 13 through Saturday, February 15, 2025, at Cherry Valley Hotel and Ohio Event Center in Newark, Ohio. “The OEFFA conference has a long history of providing high-quality programming in support of sustainable and organic farming in Ohio and beyond,” said OEFFA Executive Director Khara Strum. “We are looking forward to creating community with farmers, consumers, and advocates through workshops and curated social activities.”…

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    Reilly Wright Comments Off on 46th Annual Ohio Food and Farm Conference Opens Registration

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    Farm Tours

    Explore Sustainable Agriculture at an OEFFA Farm Tour or Workshop

    May 15, 2023

    Khara Strum Joins OEFFA as Executive Director

    May 1, 2024

    OEFFA Launches 2025 Farm Tour and Workshop Series

    May 12, 2025
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OEFFA

Reilly Wright

Reilly Wright

Communications Director

(614) 725-3160
Online

(614) 725-3160
Online

Heather Seely

Heather Seely

Communications and Media Specialist

(614) 725-3164
Online

(614) 725-3164
Online

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