Buckeye People

The 2012 Ohio State Fair Junior Fair Board members:

• President: Seth Erwin, Fayetteville, FFA
• Vice President: Ellen Gilliland, McCutchenville, FFA
• Secretary: Benjamin Hisey, Greenfield, 4-H
• Erich Auer, Pickerington, Boy Scouts
• Rachel Buchanan, Columbus, Camp Fire USA
• Noah Dean, Marion, Tech Ed
• Savannah Ferkins, Dola, Girl Scouts
• Seth Finton, Coshocton, Farm Bureau
• Melanie Fitch, Greenwich, Grange
• Taban Flores, Ripley, FCCLA
• Landon Gibbs, Washington Court House, 4-H
• Adam Hinshaw, Arcanum, Grange
• Sierra Jepsen, Amanda, FFA
• Jamie Martin, Covington, Girl Scouts
• Brock Newsome, London, Tech Ed
• Clay Parrish, Edon, FFA
• Rachna Patel, Hamilton, FCCLA
• Sarah Peterson, Sabina, 4-H
• Kelsey Rumburg, Chardon, Farrm Bureau
• Hannah Slykerman, Lancaster, 4-H

Most organizations select members for a two-year term, while some large youth groups select annually to ensure continuity of operation. Officers are selected by their peers at the completion of their first year on the board and oversee JFB activities during their second year.

Responsibilities of the JFB vary from year to year, but each member serves as an ambassador between their youth organization, the Fair and the Fair-going public.… Continue reading

Pheasants Forever, Inc. and Quail Forever has named Jim Inglis of Marysville, its Governmental Affairs Representative. Inglis is an 11-year veteran of “The Habitat Organization,” spending the past five years as Pheasants Forever’s national Farm Bill Biologist Coordinator. Inglis joins Pheasants Forever’s Government Affairs team led by Dave Nomsen.

Inglis’ primary role will be strengthening Pheasants Forever’s outreach and advocacy efforts and serving as a spokesman for state-level and national conservation policies and programs. For 30 years Pheasants Forever has, as an organization, served as one of the staunchest advocates for conservation through strong partnerships with state and federal agencies. In recent years, Pheasants Forever has accelerated the development of its Farm Bill Biologist program to serve landowners in enrolling in conservation programs. Inglis oversaw that growth, taking a program with 22 biologists in five states to one with nearly 100 biologists in 18 states.

“Jim understands the grassroots nature of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever,” said Dave Nomsen, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever’s Vice President of Government Affairs.… Continue reading

Dane Garman — a long-time Ohio AgriBusiness Association (OABA) member and co-founder of Garman Feed & Supply — passed away this month.

Garman, who was 85, worked for the Central Ohio Breeder’s Association (COBA), where he received a COBA technician award for breeding 10,000 cows. He and his family then moved to Napoleon, where he was the general manager of Farmers Friend Mineral Company. In 1976, Garman, along with his brother Walt Garman, purchased Garman Feed & Supply in Lyndon, which is presently owned and operated by his son Greg. In 2005, Garman opened Garman Feed & Supply in Bainbridge. Garman served in World War II, he was a member of the South Salem Methodist Church, where he sang in the choir, served as chairman of the church board and was a member of the pastor-parish committee. He loved farming, animals, his business and people.… Continue reading

Congratulations to OCJ cartoonist Earl Musick, who was recognized with the Best Dramatic Short Video of the Year Award at the recent Christian Comedy Association Conference in Nashville. Musick’s video is featured at https://ocj.com/2012/04/ocj-cartoonist-shares-talents-in-a-video/.… Continue reading

The Ohio Pork Producers Council (OPPC) is proud to announce the recipients of the 2012 OPPC and Ohio Pork Council Women Scholarships. Together, the Ohio Pork Producers Council and the Ohio Pork Council Women are awarding 12 youth a total of $8,500 in scholarship funds.

The OPPC Scholarships were awarded to Erin Wollett of Sunbury; Rick van den Hengel of Scott; Stacie Seger of Minster; Colleen Hord of Bucyrus; Jaime Walker of Houston; Amanda Haines of Montpelier; Katie Beavers of Newcomerstown; Hayden Fisher of West Liberty and Taylor Hershberger of Upper Sandusky.

The 2012 Ohio Pork Council Women Scholarship recipients are Stacie Seger of Minster; Lauren Schwab of Somerville and Brandon Haines of Montpelier

“On behalf of the Ohio Pork Producers Council and the Ohio Pork Council Women, I congratulate the 2012 scholarship recipients on electing to pursue further education and wish them continued success as they work toward their future careers,” said Dick Isler, OPPC executive vice president.… Continue reading

The Fayette County Farm Bureau is proud to support its local community through our long-standing $2,500 Reward Program. This program was established to protect property owners’ rights and deter criminal activity in rural areas. Hobbs was awarded with $2,500 for providing information that lead to a felony conviction. This program is administered by Fayette County Farm Bureau in conjunction with Ohio Farm Bureau and Nationwide Insurance.

The Fayette County Sheriff’s office did an exemplary job in using this information to bring the felonies to justice.… Continue reading

In the fifty-third year of the program, 51 college students are exploring career opportunities as GROWMARK summer interns. Amanda Middleton, daughter of Keith and Carolyn Middleton of Wilmington, Ohio, is majoring in agriculture at Wilmington College and working for Trupointe Cooperative.

The interns are exposed to accounting, marketing, communications, and product and service-related activities.
The group attended an orientation program at the GROWMARK corporate office in May, and will reconvene in June for an agribusiness tour. Each intern will complete a special project and deliver a presentation on that project in August.

“This year, we have one of our largest intern groups ever,” said Ashley McClintock, GROWMARK university relations manager. “They will gain hands-on experience in their chosen field, and have the opportunity to clarify career goals.”

The GROWMARK intern program began in 1959 with three interns. Since then, 832 students have been involved in the program.

GROWMARK is a regional cooperative providing agriculture-related products and services, as well as grain marketing in 31 states and Ontario, Canada.… Continue reading

AgriGold is proud to invest in the future of agriculture and support college students pursuing careers in the food and fiber industry. Their time with AgriGold provides great lessons in professional and personal development along with a better understanding of the seed corn business.… Continue reading

AgriGold is proud to invest in the future of agriculture and support college students pursuing careers in the food and fiber industry. Their time with AgriGold provides great lessons in professional and personal development along with a better understanding of the seed corn business.… Continue reading

Eleven young Ohioans have been named recipients of $1,000 college scholarships from the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation. The Foundation, supported by the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, annually recognizes Ohio students for their academic effort, engagement in their communities and career interests that link agriculture to community service, education or scientific research.

Scholarship winners for 2012 are Madeline Bauer of Avon Lake, Andrea Black of Orient, Mariah Carey of Mount Gilead, Sandra “Molly” DePue of Hamden, Amy Jo Frost of Bloomingburg, Mara Gordon of Wellington, Sierra Jepsen of Amanda, Sytske Miedema of Circleville, Sarah Peterson of Sabina, Lauren Pigg of Brookville and Aaron Sollars of Washington Court House.

Gordon and Pigg are recipients of the Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation Scholar Award, which recognizes students for academic effort, community service and career interests that use agriculture to enhance the partnership between producers and consumers. Gordon is a graduate of Keystone High School and is studying animal sciences at Ohio State University (OSU).… Continue reading

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced five appointments to the 15-member National Pork Board including Carl Link of Ft. Recovery. Link is a Production Manager at Cooper Farms. The five appointees will each serve 3-year terms.

The 59th Annual College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Recognition Program highlighted many outstanding faculty, students and student organizations. The banquet was dedicated to Dean Bobby Moser and his wife, Pat. The event was organized by Suzie McMullen, junior in agricultural and extension education and Lindy Smith, senior in animal sciences. Visit the photo gallery for more images from the evening. (Photos by Lyndsey Murphy).

Towers Faculty Award: Dr. Jill Pfister

Outstanding First Year Students: Blake Spitznagel, an agricultural communications major from Cincinnati & Joey Brown, animal sciences major from Edon

Medard Ruehle Scholarship: Beverly Lennartz, junior in agribusiness and applied economics from Fort Recovery

Outstanding Service to Students: Dr. Jill Pfister & Dr. Bobby Moser

New Activity Award: Alpha Zeta Partners, Run for their Lives 5K

Ray A. Miller CFAES Student Council Scholarship: Derek McCracken, junior in agricultural education from Anna and Linsey Howell, junior in agribusiness and applied economics from Danville

Top 10 Seniors:

Dustin Homan, agricultural & extension education, Anna

Krystin Bachman, animal sciences, Lancaster

Hannah Crossen, agricultural & extension education, Jeromesville

Drew Enigk, animal sciences, Cincinnati

Laura Gordon, animal sciences and ag systems management, Shreve

Elizabeth Heitkamp-Coons, agricultural communications, Versailles

Kate Stevens, animal sciences, Columbus

Alison Park, animal sciences, Burgoon

Emily Stayduhar, animal sciences, Canonsburg, PA

Abigail Snyder, food science, chemistry & English, Kingston

 … Continue reading

Four Ohioans who have committed their lives to working in, promoting and advocating for Ohio’s farm community will be honored Friday, August 3, 2012, by the Ohio Agricultural Council (OAC), when they are inducted into the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame.

The Ohio Agricultural Council (OAC) will induct Dr. Charles Lifer of Columbus, Dr. Bobby Moser of Dublin, Dr. Donald Myers of Dover, and Micheal (“Micki”) Zartman of Worthington, into the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame during a special breakfast ceremony held in the Rhodes Youth Center at the Ohio Expo Center. The 47^th annual event will attract 500 guests to honor these four professionals for their lifetime of service and dedication to Ohio’s agriculture community.

“Our Board is extraordinarily pleased to be honoring such a diverse group of inductees into this year’s class,” said David Barrett, OAC president.  “Each inductee stands out individually for his or her exceptional contributions  to Ohio agriculture, but together they represent the passion, creativity and hard work evidenced by their collective decades of unmatched experience.”… Continue reading

Yvonne Lesicko has been named senior director of legislative and regulatory policy for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation (OFBF). She will manage OFBF’s legislative and regulatory team and represent the interests of Farm Bureau members with Congress, the General Assembly and with federal and state regulatory agencies.

Lesicko was formerly on the Farm Bureau public policy team from 1994 – 1997 and rejoins the organization after being director of government relations for Cincinnati Bell Telephone since 1997. She received a bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College and a master’s in public administration from Ohio State University. She is a past president of the Ohio Lobbying Association and has been active with the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Association of Ohio Commodores and Girl Scouts alumni. Lesicko was raised on a Huron County grain farm where her family also operated a seed processing plant. She and her husband, Scott, have a son, Oscar.… Continue reading

Appointed members of the Ohio AgriBusiness Association (OABA) Board of Directors counted ballots for the election of 2012-2013 OABA Board of Directors and the results are as follows:

• Grain: Paul Riehm, Commodity Representative with Bunge North America. Riehm was re-elected to a second term for his Board position, and brings more than 30 years of experience in Ohio agribusiness to the OABA Board. He is currently a member of the OABA Grain Committee and views OABA as a valuable resource of information, education and a political voice for Ohio agribusiness.
• Seed: Nathan Louiso, Regional Sales Manager with AgriGold Hybrids, covering all of Ohio and Southeast Michigan. Louiso has been a member of the OABA Seed Committee for the last four years — and Chairman for the past two years, and serves as a member of the alumni board of The Ohio State University’s Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity.
• Member-At-Large: Jim Collins, Vice President of GVM West.

Nineteen select leaders and advocates recently graduated from Ohio Farm Bureau Federation’s (OFBF) AgriPOWER Institute. The intensive, yearlong leadership training program was launched in 2008 to help farmers and agricultural professionals gain influence over public policy issues that impact their businesses.

Class IV graduates are: Matt Aultman, Darke County; Michele Burkey, Tuscarawas County; Yvonne Fair, Jefferson County; Adam Garman, Ross County; Jeff Heimerl, Licking County; Ty Kellogg, Geauga County; Jack Leslie, Wyandot County; Jeff Moore, Gallia County; Katie Myers-Griffith, Wayne County; Amanda Propst, Champaign County; Kristin Reese, Fairfield County; Bruce Simmons, Medina County; Myra Snider, Delaware County; Terri Studer, Butler County; Matt Stump, Union County; Leland Tinklepaugh, Franklin County; Curtis Tobe, Putnam County; Kris Vincent, Stark County; and Carol Wildman, Clark County.

During the past year, participants engaged government officials, activists, media insiders and farm leaders on pressing local, state and national issues. Among the topics were government structure and spending, regulations, the environment, animal welfare, international trade and public relations.… Continue reading

Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) Director David Daniels today announced several new appointments to the department’s senior management team: Howard Wise, assistant director; Michael Bailey and Janelle Mead, deputy directors; Denise Franz King, executive director of the Office of Farmland Preservation; Traci Orahood, human resources chief; Erica Pitchford, communications director; and Erin Honnold and George McNab, legislative liaisons.

“We have assembled a great executive team of professionals who have wide array of experience in agriculture, public administration and public policy,” said Daniels. “I look forward to working with everyone to continue our daily work of assisting farmers and protecting consumers in the State of Ohio.”

Wise will oversee the department’s day-to-day regulatory operations and laboratories, in addition to the department’s policies and procedures. Prior to his this recent appointment, Wise served as the department’s assistant director from 2004 through 2006.  From July 1999 to June 2004, he served as the executive director of the department’s Office of Farmland Preservation. … Continue reading

Dr. Tony Forshey, Chief of Animal Health and State Veterinarian for the Ohio Department of Agriculture, received  the National Institute for Animal Agriculture’s prestigious Chairman’s Award during the organization’s annual conference, March 27-28, in Denver. The Chairman’s Award is given to an outstanding volunteer for his unselfish dedication and tireless devotion to the advancement of animal agriculture.

“Dr. Forshey’s passion for animal agriculture has had a positive impact on countless producers and veterinarians across the country, with his thoughts and guidance helping animal agriculture think of where it is and where it should be,” states Dr. Robert Fourdraine, Chairman of NIAA’s Board. “His innovative thinking and leadership motivates others.

“Dr. Forshey also takes the art of listening to a new level. He possesses a knack for listening to people and helping them develop and achieve significantly more than they ordinarily would. This skill is evident in all arenas of his professional life.… Continue reading

With a start in 4-H, you never know where you might go.

Ohio 4-H alumnus Bob Saum reflected on that as he gets organized to head to Kabul on May 1, when he becomes the country director of the World Bank for Afghanistan and Bhutan.

Saum, 49, grew up in a 4-H family in Auglaize County in northwest Ohio. His parents were 4-H advisors from before he can remember. His late father, William, was inducted into the Ohio 4-H Hall of Fame in 1998, and his mother, Anna Mae Saum, still a 4-H club advisor after 48 years, received the Meritorious Service Award from Ohio 4-H in March. Along with Saum, two brothers also were longtime 4-H members.

“I think participating in 4-H opens people up to new ideas and new opportunities,” Saum said from his Washington, D.C., office, where he is currently advisor to the managing director of the World Bank.… Continue reading

BASF Crop Protection today announced that Jason Davis was the winner of the Kixor®herbicide technology Road to DAYTONA® sweepstakes, which highlighted the fast, complete burndown and residual weed control growers get with Kixor.

Davis primarily farms corn and soybeans in Hillsboro, Ohio, about 60 miles east of Cincinnati. He said he uses Sharpen® herbicide, powered byKixor, to help control his tough weeds.

“We have heavy marestail pressure on our farm, so I used a fair amount of Sharpen last spring,” Davis said. “It’s a good product and always works well.”

With the win, he and three guests of his choosing received tickets to the 54th annual DAYTONA 500®, as well as an expenses-paid three-day, two-night trip to Daytona Beach, Florida. The prestigious DAYTONA 500®, which was run on Feb. 27 after the first rain delay in its history, is considered “The Great American Race” and featured 43 of the world’s top drivers.… Continue reading