Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast

Hard numbers are hard to find, but one source indicates more than 80 million Americans participate in sports. Many of them are our kids and grandkids starting with little league and continuing through high school. With so many youngsters involved in dozens of different sports, it seems worth spending a little time thinking about how their participation is, or should be, impacting their minds and b...

In a state known for big cities and big stretches of flat, productive farmland, a part of our state we don’t often give a lot of attention to is Appalachian Ohio. That eastern and southern area of Ohio accounts for 40% of the state’s land mass, but only 17% of our population. It’s also an area that’s tough to economically thrive in. Today, we are joined by a couple of folks who want to help fix th...

In 1870, the Ohio General Assembly chartered the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College. The doors opened three years later, and five years after that, the college changed its name to The Ohio State University. While OSU now goes far beyond strictly an ag and mechanical focus, Ohio State remains a land grant institution, with community betterment a key purpose. OSU’s engineering and agricultural...

For the past 10 years or so, the new player on the scene is the podcast. Online, on demand and as specialized as you could want. Alex Hastie is an attorney and the managing partner of Hastie Legal. He’s active in numerous community organizations and projects. And he’s a historian. Alex is on the Board of Trustees with the Ohio History Connection (formerly the Ohio Historical Society). His popular...

Election Day is just over a week away. One of your biggest choices, if you’ve not already cast your ballot, is to decide who will serve the next four years as governor of Ohio. Today, you get to hear from democratic candidate Richard Cordray. Mr. Cordray’s visit follows up last week’s show with republican candidate Mike DeWine. What are Ohio’s biggest issues and how will they be handled? Hear what...

Democrat Richard Cordray and Republican Mike DeWine want to be the next governor of the state of Ohio. Over the next two weeks, both candidates will talk with us about the challenges facing Ohio, their solutions and their vision for the state. We’re concluding our series of shows with the candidates for all statewide offices by spending an hour each with the two major party gubernatorial candidate...

Election day is just a little over 3 weeks away. Do you know who you’ll vote for to serve as Ohio’s top law enforcement official? Democrat Steve Dettelbach and Republican Dave Yost both want to be your next attorney general. What do they believe are the top issues affecting Ohioans? How will they carry out their jobs? We’ll get into those topics and more as we continue our series of shows introduc...

As a taxpayer, you want someone to take good care of the money you provide to the state of Ohio. Today’s guests want that job. Democrat Rob Richardson and Republican Robert Sprague are the candidates for State Treasurer, who collects, invests and protects your tax dollars. You’ll hear them talk about issues important to Ohioans, and make their case for your vote. Our pre-election visits with the s...

National political pundits are saying that control of the U.S. Senate is up for grabs. Among the key states being watched closely ahead of the November election is Ohio. Incumbent democrat, Senator Sherrod Brown is facing off against republican challenger, Congressman Jim Renacci. Both Mr. Brown and Mr. Renacci sat down in the Town Hall Ohio studio to spend some time talking about key issues that...

Ohio Representative Kathleen Clyde and Ohio senator frank LaRose are both seeking a new job. The same job. They want to be Ohio’s next Secretary of State. Today, we continue our series of pre-election shows in which you’ll hear first-hand from the statewide candidates. Today, we focus on the democrat and republican who wants to serve as Ohio’s Chief Elections Officer and leads the state’s programs...

While the vast majority of Americans live in urbanized areas, the vast majority of the United States is classified as rural. 72% of our nation’s landmass is rural, and 46 million people live there. Serving that community is the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and in particular, USDA’s rural development agency. Its head, Anne Hazlett, and its Ohio leader, Dave Hall, join Farm Bureau’s Yvonne Lesick...

If you grew up or live in many parts of northeast Ohio (same with much of northwest and central Ohio) and you’ve ever driven the back roads, you’re probably familiar with the sight of a slow moving buggy being drawn by a horse. Ohio is home to more than 74,000 Amish, about a quarter of the nation’s total Amish population. On this episode of Town Hall Ohio, we’ll take a look inside Ohio’s Amish com...

In a few short months, Ohioans will head to the polls to elect a new Governor, Auditor, Treasurer, Secretary of State and Attorney General. We’ll also elect a U.S. Senator, Supreme Court Justices and numerous state lawmakers. Between now and election day, Town Hall Ohio plans to host the candidates for statewide office. Today, our guests are seeking your vote to be State Auditor: Republican Keith...

For the past fifty years, many of Ohio’s best paying jobs have disappeared. Communities have suffered and state government appears to have been powerless to turn things around. Last week we talked about what happened and why, and today we’ll get into a bit more of that plus look at some potential solutions. We’ll also frame out some key questions that you should be asking Rich Cordray and Mike DeW...

Between 1969 and 2016, Ohio lost 700,000 of its 1.4 million manufacturing jobs. The state has experienced zero job growth since 2001. More and more of the jobs we do have are not high paying positions. Our last seven governors have seen the challenge, and have not solved the problems. Today’s guests have issued an extensive analysis of what’s happened to the Ohio economy, and some key questions fo...

Tourism is big business for the Buckeye State. Last year, 219 million folks visited Ohio. Most came from within 300 to 500 miles and they spent a lot of money here. Getting them here is the job of Tourism Ohio, part of the state’s development services agency. Tourism Ohio’s director Matt MacLaren joins us to talk about the business of tourism, what’s being done to boost it, and to tell us about so...

The Ohio State Fair is right around the corner. Starting Wednesday, Ohioans from all corners of the state will make the trek to Columbus to experience the sights, sounds and smells of the annual big event. This is the 165th edition of the state fair, and today we look ahead to all the fun with Fair Manager, Virgil Strickler and Fair Communications Director, Alica Shoultz. We’ll talk about the live...

Consider every product you use, every day--food, technology, vehicles, personal care. And beyond products, every social engagement, every political activity. Somewhere, at some time, a researcher was involved. Either in a pristine lab or maybe in a backyard garage, the knowledge that is the basis of most everything we have or do was developed by someone doing research. Guests Dr. Caroline Whitacre...

From the grill hash slinger to the executive chef, someone has to put the food on your plate when you’re eating out. Becoming the next Bobby Flay, Rachael Ray or Cameron Mitchell is no small feat but Columbus State Community College can be of some help. Their growing culinary arts and hospitality program aims to train folks for careers but also to be a contributor to Ohio’s economy and communities...

The vision of farming is often romanticized. Days outdoors instead of at a corporate desk. Staining your hands with soil instead of printer ink. Well, for a growing number of people, it’s not a romantic notion. It’s reality. And it’s not always idyllic. New and small farmers are dotting the landscape across Ohio, Today’s guests are part of an Ohio State program to give these burgeoning farmers a b...

Every day, mankind uses about 28 billion kilowatt hours of energy. For perspective, for the average American family to use that much, it would take roughly 2.5 million years. Add to that a growing world population and growing world economy, and you can see the challenges before us. Today on Town Hall Ohio, we’ll hear some industry experts’ thoughts on what it’s going to take to have the policies a...

One of Ohio’s greatest resources is Lake Erie. It’s the source of drinking water for millions of Ohioans. It’s an economic engine for much of the state. It’s also one of Ohio’s top recreational opportunities. It also faces some problems - one of the biggest challenges is annual toxic algal blooms. That’s a problem not just for the lake, but for Ohio’s agricultural industry. Today, two prominent La...

Chances are, you’re one of 68 million customers who visit a McDonald’s, every day. The company did 22.8 billion dollars in revenue last year. Today, we look beyond the golden arches to learn more about one of the biggest restaurant chains in the world. Their spokesman, and a store owner, are our guests today, on Town Hall Ohio.

Just saying the names brings sorrow, anger, and confusion. Columbine. Sandy Hook. Parkland High School. These are just three of the more infamous episodes where someone walked into an American school and started killing kids and teacher. What is going on? Why is this happening? What can be done to prevent the violence, or at least mitigate the damage? There is no single, or simple solution. But to...

The variety and selection of food today is phenomenal. We talk with farmers fairly often on this show. But what happens with that food once it leaves the farm? What about processing, packaging, marketing? Today, we spend time learning about the link in the food chain that largely begins after the crop is harvested or the animal is goes to market. What are the innovations that will make food tastie...