Enhancing Agriculture and the Environment

Ohio’s diverse agricultural, horticultural and forestry industries contribute more than $100 billion to the state’s economy every year. OSU Extension agriculture and natural resources (ANR) programs assist with technology, marketing and educational support – protecting Ohio’s position in the global marketplace.

OSU Extension also works to help local residents and community leaders enhance and sustain the environment and natural areas throughout the state, balancing economic advancement with environmental sustainability.

Our ANR professionals help producers develop and expand profitable, sustainable farming and other agricultural businesses – thereby creating jobs and economic opportunity for Ohio’s citizens. They also provide leadership, collaboration, consulting, unbiased information, applied research, and access to land-grant university knowledge to address local issues and needs.

Erik Draper, Extension Educator, Commercial Horticulture - As a horticulturist, Erik Draper is extensively involved in total plant diagnostics and phytoforensics. In other words, it is the peculiar application of science, observation, and expertise to accurately ferret out the cause of plant health problems and death. This often consists of insect and disease identification, evaluation of environmental factors, in addition to detecting many plants, people and growing site interactions.

Les Ober, CCA, Program Assistant, Agriculture & Natural Resources **** Webster Dictionary defines Agriculture as the science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock and in varying degrees the preparation and marketing of the resulting products. Geauga County agriculture is diverse, divided evenly between crop production and animal agriculture. The rolling hills of Geauga County provide the perfect environment for dairy, horse, corn, soybean, hay and maple syrup production. Although the average size of Geauga’s farms has declined over the years the number of farms has not. There are more farms in production in the county today than there were 30 years ago. The result is a vital, growing industry producing over $26,000,000.00 dollars in revenue annually. ***** Serving Geauga’s agricultural industry is The Geauga County Ohio State University Extension, providing local farmers with a direct link to the education and research resources of one of the countries premier land-grant agricultural universities, The Ohio State University. The Mission of the Ohio State University Extension is to; Engage people to strengthen their lives and communities through research-based educational programming. This is accomplished by providing unbiased research backed educational programming and information from skilled professionals that know and understand the needs of Geauga Counties Farmers and the land they farm.

You can also learn more about all OSU Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources programs at http://agnr.osu.edu.

Extension has been helping all Ohioans build better lives, better businesses and better communities since 1914.