OEFFA Stories
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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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TOPP Mentorship Spotlight: Nanda Kishore Methuku
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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From Friendship to Land Legacy Preservation: A Tale of Non-Heir Land Transfer
By Kelly Cabral, OEFFA Farmland Specialist On one rainy morning in late April 2022, I met farmers Mary Lou and Tom Shaw of Milk and Honey Farm to tour their land, meet their animated heritage breed Narragansett turkeys and Dorking chickens, and the farmer who is taking over their farm when they move out at the end of May. Twenty five years ago, Mary Lou and Tom purchased the 48-acre property. Over time, Tom built a 30-acre wetland and prairie on the property to accommodate the flourishing native biodiversity. It is a quaint farm, with a small farm house, seven outbuildings, animal housing, and a working windmill. In 2021, due…
