Contact: Jack Irvin
Dir., Research & Community & Affairs
614.306.8605, jirvin@ohiocornandwheat.org

DELAWARE, Ohio – Clear Fork FFA was awarded with a $2,000 sponsorship from the Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program (OSGMP), as part of a statewide competition among select FFA chapters to increase awareness about the nutritional value of a diet with whole grains, among other healthy behavior changes, at their schools.

Before their peers and a judging panel, FFA chapters showcased their “Food for Thought Challenge” campaign efforts at the 84th Ohio State FFA Convention May 3 at the Ohio State Fairgrounds.

Food for Thought FFA chapters included:

• Ridgemont
• Mt. Gilead
• Northwestern
• Clear Fork
• London
• Miami East
• Ridgedale
• North Union
• Twin Valley South

Participating chapters submitted campaign entries to OSGMP in September and were selected in October based on the originality of their campaign ideas.

Campaign tactics included the use of student food logs, organizing educational fairs with health-related groups and providing healthy snacks between classes.

Because of the uniqueness of its campaign tactics, Clear Fork FFA was named the winning chapter and was presented with a $2,000 check to continue campaign activities.

Adjacent from Clear Fork High School on a busy state route, students created a giant scarecrow from hay next to a replica of an oversized Wheaties box also made of hay. There was also signage displaying whole-grain facts. Many travelers stopped to get a photo of the display throughout the winter months.

Students conducted a canned-food drive at Thanksgiving, rewarding students with a whole-grain muffin for the donation of a canned good. More than 1,300 items were given to two local food pantries and students also helped a food bank distribute fresh produce.

During the annual FFA fruit sale, members donated cases of fruit to a senior center and filled fruit baskets with other food items for families during the Christmas season.

Homemade chocolate-chip cookies are a Clear Fork cafeteria tradition. Clear Fork Food Service changed its recipe to use whole-grain flour instead of white flour and collaborated with food-service employees to change the school menu — offering both whole-grain options and salads. A red heart is now placed by each item on the district menu to indicate heart-healthy items.

About Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program
The Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program Board works to improve wheat production, wheat qualities and to strengthen markets for wheat in Ohio as well as wheat export markets. OSGMP supports educational programs in the state and funds research programs to create better crops and open new markets. For more information, visit ohiosmallgrains.org.

###

On the morning of Thursday, May 3, the Ohio State Fairgrounds is busy with the setup of the agriscience fair, proficiency competitions, and career development events for the 84th Ohio FFA State Convention. Along with these contests, there is another activity in which blue jacket wearing members are participating. The Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program (OSGMP), an organization, which works to improve wheat production and other small grains in the state of Ohio, sponsored the “Food for Thought” program.

This year, eight teams participated in the competition which gives FFA chapters $500 dollars to fund activities and programs to educate the public on the benefits of small grains. The contest was judged by a panel of 5 judges from the Ohio Corn Marketing Program and a Chef from the “Chefs Move to Schools” program. Students at the convention voted by texting Teams created programs and then made a presentation to a panel of judges hoping to win the grand prize of a grant in the amount of $2,000. The final eight teams competing were: Clearfork FFA, London FFA, Miami East FFA, North Union FFA, Northwestern FFA, Ridgedale FFA and Ridgemont FFA

Each chapter’s presentation touched on the healthiness of whole grains and their importance to the human diet. Out of all the presentations, some initiatives stood out from the rest, including a “healthy lifestyles fair” by the Miami East FFA, which not only gave students information, but face-to-face discussion with medical associates explaining the importance of whole grains. Other unique programs included motivational posters by the Clearfork FFA and daily healthy eating logs by many of the chapters.

In the end, the third place finish went to the Northwestern FFA Chapter, second place went to the Ridgemont FFA Chapter, and the first place prize of $2,000 went to the Clearfork FFA Chapter team, which was made up of Chelsea O’Connor, Mackenzie E. Miller and Spencer McGinty. Their presentation called “Team Whole Grain,” outlined the benefits of whole grains as well as their projects, which were designed to convey that message to the community.

Did you know Ohio produces over 70 million bushels of wheat each year?

That fact, along with many others, helped members to present “Food for Thought” and represent the OSGMP to areas across the state of Ohio. FFA Members did a great job in representing the OSGMP and promoting the image of agriculture.

Click here to view the story on ocj.com.

ORIENT- Gretchen Mossbarger has worked on the family farm near Orient since she was young, and now she is using her experiences and knowledge to help educate consumers about their families’ food supply.

Mossbarger is the owner of R Farm, on Darby Creek Rd., which is primarily a seed farm specializing in soybean and wheat seed that is sold to local farmers. The farm was started more than 50 years ago by Mossbarger’s grandfather, Don Roush, and today, Mossbarger works on the farm mainly with her father, Roy Roush, and Tony Picklesimer.

Mossbarger is also one of three Ohio representatives of CommonGround, a national program with the goal of starting a conversation between women who grow food and women who buy it. In Ohio, CommonGround has just taken root within the last year.

“It’s run by the United Soybean Board, which is funded by the check-off dollars that farmers pay at the elevators,” Mossbarger said of CommonGround. “It basically means that farmers are paying to run this program in the broadest sense of the word.”

When a farmer takes a bushel of soybeans to the elevator, one-half percent of each dollar goes to a national fund that supports research and development for soybeans, she explained. The United Soybean Board, which is made up of farmers, decides how to spend the money. The board decided to form the CommonGround program for women to focus on talking with other women about the food supply. The food supply is a huge concern for women and their families, Mossbarger said, and while the program mainly focuses on women, it does not do so exclusively.

“The point is to get our names out there and become an option to go to for information,” Mossbarger said.

This can include speaking with groups and individuals or even communicating via Facebook, Twitter and email. Mossbarger said that each CommonGround representative has her own specialty. Among the topics that Mossbarger addresses is the question of genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. This means the soybean has been altered either by genetics, inbreeding, or the DNA rearranged in order to produce a soybean that is tolerant to certain sprays such as glyphosate, an herbicide which is used to kill weeds.

Mossbarger said that GMOs have been approved globally, but from a consumer standpoint, many people have concerns about the safety of eating soybeans that have been genetically modified. However, she said there is no evidence to prove that genetically-modified soybeans are harmful to the health of the consumer.

“I truly believe there is not any difference,” she said. “It’s one of those things that science has been working on, and they’ve studied it, and they’ve not found any evidence that it’s any different than traditionally-grown soybeans.”

She said that GMOs allow the farmer to use less chemicals on their fields and use safer chemicals to control weeds.

So far, CommonGround in Ohio has had one official dinner, and Mossbarger has given several interviews and has spoken to a couple of groups. She said the group hopes to speak to more groups and use blogs, Twitter and Facebook more frequently in order to put people’s minds at rest about the safety of their food.

Mossbarger graduated from The Ohio State University where she majored in horticulture and minored in international studies. Her husband, Steve Mossbarger, is also involved in agriculture as he manages a crop-production services facility in Washington Court House. They have one son, Logan, and reside in Ross County.

For more information on CommonGround, go to findourcommonground.com.

Click here to view the story on circlevilletoday.com

May 4, 2012
By JOSHUA S. FLESHER – reporter (jflesher@tribtoday.com) , Tribune Chronicle | TribToday.com

An unseasonably warm and dry winter has expanded into a warmer than usual spring, allowing farmers across the state to begin their growing seasons at the earliest point many of them have ever planted.

One such farmer is Richard Houk of Newton Falls, who has spent the past couple weeks preparing the ground, planting the seeds and spraying the fields for weeds. And so far, he said both the ground temperature and soil have remained good for planting.

”This is the first time this early we have ever planted a field,” said Houk, who farms about 250 acres.

This year’s growing season is in complete contradiction to last season, when an exceptionally snowy winter and wet spring pushed farmers to planting their crops later and later.

”It’s the polar opposite of last year,” said Tadd Nicholson, executive director of the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association. ”Last year we were planting in late June, and this year we had some people planting in late March.”

According to a study by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, Ohio already has planted 57 percent of its 2011 corn acreage as opposed to last season when only 1 percent had been planted by the same time.

”Ohio had an extremely slow year last year, and this year’s been much better,” explained Anthony Prillaman, with NASS.

Being able to plant earlier in the season changes the type of corn seed used and can have an impact on the final output.

”You can plant a longer season crop,” said Houk. “The corn, you can plant a 90-day or 115-day corn. We planted a 108-day corn which is something we normally don’t do. The longer season usually yields a little bit more than a shorter season seed.”

According to Houk, the seeds should yield about 180 bushels per acre.

Prillaman agreed.

”They say the earliest you can get in the better. But we are just now planting and have a long way to go before the crop is harvested,” he said.

Nicholson said April is normally the month to begin planting, but with warm weather and dry ground, farmers are taking their chances, but others remain skeptical.

”This year, many of the guys are hedging their bets and planting early. Some think this is Ohio and we may have another cold snap,” he said. ”It’s sort of a strategy to put a little in and then wait until the optimal time to put it into the ground.”

”There’s always the chance, but the cold weather doesn’t bother you unless it’s cold and damp at the same time,” explained Houk. ”You need at least 52 degrees in the ground before a corn seed will germinate.”

Ohio is expected to have additional corn acreage in 2012, according to the USDA, which estimates Ohio having 38,000 acres of corn planted in 2012, an increase of some 400 acres.

”The corn acreage was projected by the USDA to be high,” Nicholson said.

Click here to view the story on the TribToday.com

With OSGMP’s grant, the FFA chapter conducted a salad-eating contest that had a total of 15 participants ranging from freshmen to seniors. The participants enjoyed a salad with leafy green lettuce, whole grain croutons and low-fat dressing.

The chapter also handed out more than 500 packages of Sun Chips, a whole-grain snack and apples from its annual fruit sale, as well as distributing surveys to the student body asking about eating habits.

London FFA’s future projects as part of the “Food for Thought Challenge” include a video showing eating habits of students and a post-project survey to determine if the students’ eating habits have changed after its whole-grains campaign.

“This project is totally student driven,” said Dana Snyder, FFA adviser. “The food-science class in the London agricultural program has initiated it, brainstormed and executed all of the ideas.”

*OSGMP awarded nine FFA chapters with $500 scholarships to implement programs in their school systems and will select one program as the winning chapter to award $2,000 for future program implementation.

In the next few months, wheat markets look gloomy, at best. Longer term, however, many experts are painting a brighter picture for world wheat demand. In the next 10 years, developing countries with rising incomes and growing populations will drive wheat industry growth, but U.S. market share is expected to decline due to rising Black Sea wheat production and trade, according to USDA’s Agricultural Long-term Projections Report. In the annual report, USDA predicts that annual world wheat imports will reach 157 MMT by marketing year 2021/22, which is 15% greater than the 2011/12 estimate of 137 MMT.

According to USDA’s projections, the 15 countries of the Economic Community of West African States will have the largest increase in wheat imports for any region, growing 31% to 8.2 MMT. The report projects imports by Middle East countries, excluding Egypt, will rise 24% to 19.6 MMT. Together, the West Africa and Middle East countries will account for 51% of the total expected increase in world trade in the next 10 years. USDA expects Egypt to maintain its position as the world’s single largest wheat buyer, as estimated imports could climb 17% from 10.5 MMT in 2011/12 to 12.5 MMT in 2021/22. According to projections, Saudi Arabia will experience the greatest percentage increase in imports, jumping 52% to 3.2 MMT, due primarily to the government’s decision to eliminate wheat production by 2016 because of water scarcity issues.

With the increase in demand, what countries will supply the wheat needed? USDA expects that producers in the Black Sea region, mainly Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan, will grasp a much larger share of the world export market by 2021/22, to the detriment of the traditional five largest wheat exporters. USDA projects the Black Sea region will increase market share from 26% this year to 29% in 2021/22. If realized, Russia will be the third largest exporter at 23.8 MMT, accounting for 15% of total world market share. USDA noted in the report that the region is prone to volatility in production and trade due to highly variable weather and yields. The most recent example of this volatility was 2010/11 when the region’s market share dropped to 11% because of severe drought that lead to a government-imposed export ban.

The European Union and Argentina are the only traditional exporters expected to increase market share in the next 10 years, by 3 and 1%, respectively. USDA predicts that with 25.9 MMT, the European Union will surpass the United States as the world’s largest exporter in 2021/22. USDA expects U.S. exports to decline 5% to 24.5 MMT by 2021/22. Total U.S. market share is projected to drop from 19% in 2011/12 to 16% in 2021/22 — well below the 24% average of the past 10 years. Canada’s projected market share will drop almost 2% and Australia will lose about 1% market share, if realized.

USDA’s long-term predictions indicate a steady growth for the wheat industry through 2021/22. However, the landscape of the industry may look very different as the world will experience a shift in both the major wheat importers and exporters if these projections materialize.

It really is not a secret that Amer­i­cans (and Ohioans) are over­weight. Any trip to the mall, visit to a restau­rant or trip to the movies shows that, in gen­eral, there are ample expand­ing waist­lines around us.

While there are many fac­tors that have taken the blame for this, there have also been many pro­posed solu­tions to America’s weight prob­lem. A year ago, the U.S. Depart­ment of Agri­cul­ture pub­lished a pro­posed rule to update the nutri­tion stan­dards for meals served through the National School Lunch and School Break­fast pro­grams as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. The pro­posed changes to school meal stan­dards add more fruits, veg­eta­bles, whole grains, fat-free and low-fat milk to school meals. Schools would also be required to limit the lev­els of sat­u­rated fat, sodium, calo­ries, and trans fats in meals.

Man­dat­ing health­ier foods is a great step, but the Ohio Small Grains Mar­ket­ing Pro­gram (OSGMP) decided to take things one-step fur­ther by work­ing with edu­ca­tion con­sul­tants to change stu­dents’ behav­iors and atti­tudes about their food choices.

“Rather than us writ­ing a cur­ricu­lum and hand­ing it to them hop­ing that they would do some­thing with it, we brought a team of teach­ers together from Mt. Gilead, which was the first school we approached,” said Carol Warken­tien, one of the OSGMP edu­ca­tion con­sul­tants. “We laid out some of the chal­lenges we would be fac­ing if we wanted to bring kids along with this notion.”

The ini­tial meet­ing led to a deci­sion to con­sult the stu­dents them­selves on the best ways to shape their atti­tudes and behav­iors about their foods. Soon, the Mt. Gilead FFA was work­ing to change atti­tudes about food in the school. The FFA stu­dents started by mak­ing a video in the school cafeteria.

“The stu­dents did a video in their own high school lunch­room and asked other stu­dents what they thought about their healthy lunch. Of course there was some hilar­ity in the inter­views, but there is also an aware­ness of some of the gaps in stu­dent knowl­edge of and under­stand­ing about their food,” said Jeanne Gogol­ski, another OSGMP edu­ca­tion con­sul­tant work­ing on the project. “One of the prime ath­letes at the school ate an entire pack of Oreo cook­ies for lunch. Nat­u­rally that pro­duces some con­ver­sa­tion about what it takes to have a healthy lunch.”

As a fol­low up to the video, the Mt, Gilead health class posted some nutri­tion infor­ma­tion in the lunch­room list­ing the calo­ries in some of the lunch food. The school also had a whole grains taste test event where stu­dents rated whole grain snacks and chose their favorites to include on the school menu to help reach the USDA requirements.

The Mt. Gilead FFA stu­dents also used their cafe­te­ria video at some events to gen­er­ate inter­est from other FFA chap­ters in their “Food for Thought Chal­lenge.” For the student-created chal­lenge, the OSGMP gave out $500 schol­ar­ships to nine Ohio FFA chap­ters (includ­ing Mt. Gilead) to help them develop a nutri­tional aware­ness cam­paign about healthy food choices for their fel­low students.

Each par­tic­i­pat­ing chap­ter will make a pre­sen­ta­tion at the Ohio FFA Con­ven­tion next May and the win­ning chap­ter will receive $2,000 from the OSGMP. Par­tic­i­pat­ing FFA chap­ters sub­mit­ted cam­paign entries in Sep­tem­ber and were selected in Octo­ber based on the orig­i­nal­ity of their cam­paign ideas.

The par­tic­i­pat­ing Food for Thought FFA chap­ters have already begun imple­ment­ing their cam­paigns, which include pro­mot­ing the use of stu­dent food logs, orga­niz­ing edu­ca­tional fairs with health-related groups and pro­vid­ing healthy snacks between classes. Along with Mt. Gilead, the par­tic­i­pat­ing FFA Chap­ters are: Ridge­mont, North­west­ern, Clear Fork, Lon­don, Miami East, Ridgedale, North Union, and Twin Val­ley South.

“The schools’ progress will be mon­i­tored through­out the year as they launch a pro­gram in the school. The win­ner that can best show that they changed atti­tudes and behav­iors in their dis­trict will win the award,” Warken­tien said. “We think inter­est will be even higher next year. It is kind of fun and it has got­ten kids work­ing within their own dis­tricts and they are reach­ing out to younger kids in the dis­trict as well. Kids can be very inno­v­a­tive and cre­ative and they are going to come up with a lot of ideas that can be shared around the state.”

The nutri­tional pos­si­bil­i­ties are lim­ited only by the expand­ing imag­i­na­tions of FFA stu­dents around the state — and imag­i­na­tions are much more ben­e­fi­cial to expand than waistlines.

This col­umn is brought to you by Ohio agri­cul­ture. Matt Reese writes for Ohio’s Coun­try Jour­nal and resides in Bal­ti­more, Ohio. Con­tact him at mkcreese@yahoo.com. For more, visit fresh­count ryair.blogspot.com.

Students create nutrition challenge

Tests, homework, sports, grades, friends, peer pressure, jobs — today’s students have pretty full plates that unfortunately do not often include consideration of the food that is on them.

With deteriorating health in many segments of U.S. society, efforts are being made to bring nutrition closer to the forefront for students. A year ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture published a proposed rule to update the nutrition standards for meals served through the National School Lunch and School Breakfast programs as part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. The proposed changes to school meal standards add more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat milk to school meals. Schools would also be required to limit the levels of saturated fat, sodium, calories, and trans fats in meals.

The Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program (OSGMP) decided to take the government’s school food mandates one step further by working with education consultants to change student behaviors and attitudes about their food choices.

“Rather than us writing a curriculum and handing it to them hoping that they would do something with it, we brought a team of teachers together from Mt. Gilead, which was the first school we approached,” said Carol Warkentien, one of the OSGMP education consultants. “We laid out some of the challenges we would be facing if we wanted to bring kids along with this notion.”

The initial meeting led to a decision to consult the students themselves on the best ways to shape their attitudes and behaviors about their foods. Soon, the Mt. Gilead FFA was working to change attitudes about food in the school. The FFA students started by making a video in the school cafeteria.

“The students did a video in their own high school lunchroom and asked other students what they thought about their healthy lunch. Of course there was some hilarity in the interviews, but there is also an awareness of some of the gaps in student knowledge of and understanding about their food,” said Jeanne Gogolski, another OSGMP education consultant working on the project. “One of the prime athletes at the school ate an entire pack of Oreo cookies for lunch. Naturally that produces some conversation about what it takes to have a healthy lunch.”

As a follow up to the video, the Mt. Gilead health class posted some nutrition information in the lunchroom listing the calories in some of the lunch food. The school also had a whole grains taste test event where students rated whole grain snacks and chose their favorites to include on the school menu to help reach the USDA requirements.

The Mt. Gilead FFA students also used their cafeteria video at some events to generate interest from other FFA chapters in their “Food for Thought Challenge.” For the student-created challenge, the OSGMP gave out $500 scholarships to nine Ohio FFA chapters (including Mt. Gilead) to help them develop a nutritional awareness campaign about healthy food choices for their fellow students.

“It is also making a connection with kids about where their food comes from,” Gogolski said. “In Ohio, I think a lot of students don’t realize that we grow wheat and other crops for their food right here.”

Each participating chapter will make a presentation at the Ohio FFA Convention next May and the winning chapter will receive $2,000 from the OSGMP.

Circleville Farmer Named to Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program Officer Board

DELAWARE, Ohio – The Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program (OSGMP) announces John Hoffman as a new officer of its 2012 executive board, which collectively represents and promotes the industry success of Buckeye State wheat and other small grains and works on behalf of the state’s small-grains growers.

“John is a great advocate for the success of our wheat industry,” said OSGMP Interim Executive Director Tadd Nicholson. “He has a long track record of being active in the industry to help develop and expand markets to financially safeguard Ohio’s grain producers and sustain Ohio wheat production.”

Vice Chairman Hoffman and his fellow officers are responsible for developing new wheat markets, partnering with export organizations, assisting with wheat-variety research endeavors and creating educational nutrition programs for consumers.

Ohio Small Grains

• Ohio is the nation’s leader in growing soft red winter wheat (used in flatbreads, crackers, biscuits, cake/pastry flour)
• Ohio produces an average of more than 70 million bushels of wheat each year
• About 700,000 to 1 million acres of wheat are planted in Ohio each year
• Ohio has about 20,000 wheat farmers
• Ohio is one of the largest flour-milling states
• Ohio’s wheat crop value is $300 million to $400 million annually

About Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program
The Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program Board works to improve wheat production, wheat qualities and to strengthen markets for wheat in Ohio as well as wheat export markets. OSGMP supports educational programs in the state and funds research programs to create better crops and open new markets.  For more information, visit ohiosmallgrains.org

###

The Ohio Small Grains Marketing Program (OSGMP) is sponsoring a statewide competition among FFA chapters to increase awareness about the nutritional value of a diet with whole grains. OSGMP awarded nine chapters* with $500 scholarships to implement programs in their school systems and will select one program as the winning chapter to award $2,000 for future program implementation.

The most recent campaign took place at Miami East High School, which went “healthy” during the week of November 14, designated as “Healthy Lifestyles Week.”

The school’s FFA “Healthy Lifestyle Committee” sponsored a “Food For Thought” log in which, students and staff recorded their food and drink consumption during a day. During study halls, students received a healthy snack for keeping their log updated. Snacks included an apple, orange or banana, a low-fat whole-grain snack bar, water and a non-fat yogurt. Dannon Company donated the yogurt.

Additionally, the high school attended a Healthy Lifestyles Fair during lunch. Displays were provided by the Upper Valley Medical Center Sports Medicine, Miami Valley Hospital, Stone’s Throw Cooperative, Miami East Schools’ Nurse Jeanelle Adkins and the Farm to Consumer Foundation.

A canned food drive for students and staff was coordinated. For every five items an individual donated, the student’s name was entered into a drawing to throw a pie at school Principal Tim Williams at an all-school assembly. All cans donated will be given to the Fletcher Food Bank at the Fletcher United Methodist Church. About 1,000 cans were collected.

Finally, in celebration of the Miami East FFA’s 53rd birthday, all chapter members were invited to participate in a chapter carry-in. The challenge for the carry-in was to collect water, lean meats and whole-grains, low-fat and non-fat food items.

All unused grant funds will be donated to the Fletcher Food Bank.

*Nine Ohio FFA Chapters Receiving $500 Grants:

• Ridgemont FFA
• Mt. Gilead FFA
• Northwestern FFA
• Clear Fork FFA
• London FFA
• Miami East FFA
• Ridgedale FFA
• North Union FFA
• Twin Valley South FFA