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Member Spotlight: TOPP Mentorship
Originally published in the Spring 2026 edition of the OEFFA newsletter. Renee Ramunni and Teresa Mitchell are surprisingly similar. They are both approaching their 70th birthdays, have families with biological and adopted children of similar ages, and come from caregiving backgrounds. In 2025, a post-retirement dream and a love of teaching would bring them together. After a long career as a nurse, Teresa finally had the time and energy to use her Euclid, Ohio, property to produce healthy food. She grew up on a farm in Alabama, but shied away from farm work, willingly letting her older sisters handle it instead. After working in healthcare, recognizing Earth’s innate ability to…
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Resources for Farmers: Ways to Stay Updated
In the food and farming world, it can be hard to stay on top of a constantly evolving landscape of events, resources, program deadlines, and policy alerts. Fortunately, there are several free email lists and other resources that can help you stay connected and informed on the news, resources, and opportunities that impact you. We’ve compiled the list below based on community input. Is it missing anything? Let us know at members@oeffa.org. Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) Are you signed up for OEFFA emails yet? Whether you want to get the latest policy advocacy opportunity or to know when the OEFFA Conference is happening, pick your email interests…
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OEFFA Applauds Bipartisan Bill to Support Domestic Organic Farmers, Promote Organic Integrity
On June 24, 2026, Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11) and Congressman Zach Nunn (IA-03) introduced the Organic Imports Verification Act (OIVA). The bipartisan bill would safeguard domestic organic producers and consumers from fraudulent organic imports. By centering long-standing needs, like those voiced by organic farmers in Congresswoman Brown’s state, OIVA would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to test high-risk imports of organic feedstuffs, leveling the playing field for America’s organic producers and promoting integrity in the growing organic sector. This bill mirrors companion legislation in the Senate introduced by Senators Ricketts (NE), Smith (MN), and Scott (SC) last year. The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) endorses this…
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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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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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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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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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Ohio Legislature Passes HB 65, Officially Recognizing Ohio Soil Health Week
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…
Ecological Food and Farm News
