OHIO COMPOSTING INDUSTRY TOUR WILL FOCUS ON MANAGING WATER – This year’s Composting in Ohio industry tour, set for Aug. 20 in southwest Ohio, will focus on managing water.

The stops on the tour will feature, for example, a large-scale composting facility that recently took steps to better control its surface water runoff and a dairy-restaurant complex that treats millions of gallons of graywater in a system of wetlands.

Also covered will be preparing for a possible H5N1 avian influenza outbreak in Ohio and, should it happen, the possible need to compost thousands or even millions of dead poultry.

The event is for anyone “interested in seeing firsthand how to recycle, rather than landfill, organic wastes,” said Fred Michel, event co-planner and associate professor of biosystems engineering in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University.

Call 330-202-3533.

FARMERS, FOOD PROCESSORS AND NATIONWIDE HELP FEED THE HUNGRY – Mid-Ohio Foodbank is serving 3,557 meals as a result of the “Canstruction” project sponsored by Ohio farmers, food processors and Nationwide Insurance during the recently concluded Ohio State Fair.

The “Canstruction” was a model combine, tractor and wagon built with 3,624 canned food items that was displayed at Ohio Farm Bureau’s Land and Living exhibit at this year’s state fair. It took approximately 12 hours to build the display. Following the fair, the Ohio-produced canned goods were donated to Mid-Ohio Foodbank.

Ohio food processors The Beckman & Gast Co., Campbell Soup Company, The Fremont Company, Hirzel Canning Company & Farms and Keystone Meats contributed the canned foods while financial support came from Nationwide, 84 county Farm Bureaus and Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.

Hundreds of thousands of visitors viewed the display and learned about the food processing sector of Ohio’s $100 billion-plus agricultural industry. They also learned about hunger in Ohio. The state has the 12th highest ranking for food insecurity in the nation. Latest figures indicate 16 percent of Ohioans are at times unable to access a nutritious diet.

This year’s Composting in Ohio industry tour, set for Aug. 20 in southwest Ohio, will focus on managing water.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2015/08/web1_Composting-tour.jpgThis year’s Composting in Ohio industry tour, set for Aug. 20 in southwest Ohio, will focus on managing water.

Staff report