Ohio Farm Bureau Podcast

You and I spent just under 21 billion dollars last year eating out. That’s the estimated sales figure for Ohio’s more than 22,000 eating and drinking establishments. We enjoyed meals at little diners at country crossroads and at Wendy’s, Bob Evans’ and other major chains and we supported more than half-a-million people in who Ohio work in the industry. Today, John Barker of the Ohio Restaurant Ass...

Not everyone wants to graduate college with a PHD and that’s a good thing! Along with doctorates, doctors and lawyers, we need masons, mechanics, carpenters, electricians and thousands of other skilled professionals. Encouraging and preparing people to enter those necessary careers is our topic today. Our guests are Christine Gardner, Executive Director of the Ohio Association for Career and Techn...

Every year, millions of Americans travel to the nation's capital. Some are there to see the sights. Others are there to work. March 13-15, 2018 a group of around 100 Ohio Farm Bureau members were in Washington, D.C. and got a lot of work done. The big job was lobbying their lawmakers, but they also heard from the administrator of the US EPA, the Speaker of the House, both Ohio senators and more. O...

Americans would be well served to not forget the Dustbowl years of the 1930s. While that period is remembered for its disastrous impacts on nature and families, its legacy is a commitment to ensuring such calamity will never happen again. In Ohio and around the nation, soil and water conservation districts and their farmer cooperators are the boots on the ground in protecting natural resources. We...

Do any of these slogans sound familiar? Quality is our recipe. Fresh, never frozen. Where’s the beef? Of course, we’re talking about Wendy’s. Ohioan Dave Thomas’s vision, launched back in 1969, has grown to be the second largest purveyor of burgers and the 4th largest restaurant chain in America. So, their actions have great influence over how we eat - and how we grow what we eat. Today, Wendy’s C...

15 percent of Americans are 65 or older and in the next 12 years that will jump to 21 percent. That has implications for the elderly, their families and society. To help us walk through the challenges and solutions to aging issues, our guests today are Beverley L. Laubert, who was appointed interim director of the Ohio Department of Aging in December 2017. Director Laubert has been an ombudsman fo...

The economy performed pretty well last year, and most forecasts say 2018 should be a decent year, too. But we’ve already seen a brutal return of stock market volatility, growing fears of what interest rates and inflation will do and concerns over a variety of political issues at home and abroad. Today, Nationwide Sr. Vice President and Chief Economist David Berson is in to help us sort through wha...

Sadly, we’re in a time where far too many folks seem to be on their worst behavior when discussing important topics. Ranting and yelling and their online equivalents seems to have become the ways to share an opinion. In Ohio Farm Bureau, we believe there’s a better way to solve problems. Thoughtful, courteous discussion. Farm Bureau’s annual Discussion Meet competition is intended to develop young...

Agriculture is big in Ohio, and features a diversity of people and production practices for hundreds of different kinds of crops and livestock. Today we’re talking about a part of farming that is expanding rapidly – Organic agriculture. Here in the Buckeye state, organic farm numbers and economic output continue to grow. What’s the organic story in Ohio? How does it fit into the overall farm indus...

Ohio businesses and farms sell a lot of product to foreign countries. Some fifty-five percent of our state’s exports go to Canada and Mexico, who happen to be our partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement, best known as NAFTA. With that as a backdrop, you can understand why Ohio’s business and farm communities are more than a bit concerned when President Trump says he may want to back aw...

By this time next year, the Ohio political landscape will look a lot different, or at least will include a lot of new faces, or new faces in new places. Nine Ohioans have their hat in the ring to be our next governor. There are several potential ballot measures in the works, and the general assembly has plenty of business to attend to. We look ahead to policy and politics in 2018 with three member...

Pulitzer winners, educators, scientists, farmers and political leaders all were in the Town Hall Ohio studio in 2017. This week we hit a few highlights from the past year's broadcasts.

Farm Bureau members had some great accomplishments in the past year. Members of the the organization's public policy team look back at the wins, plus, Extension Educator Jenny Lobb shares some great tips on saving money at the grocery store.

Most days you can’t pick up a newspaper or turn on the radio or TV without reading or hearing about the opioid crisis. Ohio leads the nation in opioid related overdose deaths. The opioid crisis is found in adults and young people and teenagers. What’s being done to prevent the epidemic from becoming even worse? Hope for Ohio, an opioid forum today, on Town Hall Ohio.

Those of us of a certain age can remember hearing Walter Cronkite close the CBS evening news with his famous sign-off – “and that’s the way it is” and, we believed him. We have a president prone to proclaiming news stories as fake. His charges aside, there’s plenty of evidence that some, maybe a lot of what we consider news, isn’t. Fake news. Real news. How do we know the difference? And the ramif...

There is no shortage of people who want to tell us how to eat, or to tell farmers how to farm. The food movement is growing in size, and in influence, and is already having an impact on public policy. What are the consequences of disagreements between members of the food movement and the traditional farm community, and can they find common ground? Well known food and ag economist Dr. Jayson Lusk h...

Since the early 80’s, Jo Ann Davidson has been a fixture in state and national politics. In a recent story in the Columbus Dispatch, Joe Hallet referred to her as a sentry for tradition and a protector of honor, decorum, conciliation, hard work and progress. He also referenced another moniker – “the velvet hammer.” Today we get to hear from one of Ohio’s most influential political leaders, as Ms....

This probably won’t “shock” you, but Ohio is big in electricity. We produce a lot, and consume a lot. It’s also in our best interests to do both efficiently. Today’s guests can help us out. Eric Romich is with Ohio State University and Jim Miller is with AEP as well as Farm Bureau’s Dale Arnold are in today to talk about what’s going on in electric generation and usage and how we all might be able...

This Tuesday, Ohioans will have the chance to vote on State Issue 2, the Ohio Drug Price Relief Act. On this week's Town Hall Ohio, we hear the arguments of proponents and opponents. Matt Borges is the former chairman of the Ohio Republican Party. He now represents the Ohio Taxpayers for Lower Drug Prices campaign, which is the vote yes side. Dale Butland was press secretary and Ohio chief of staf...

The Farm and Food sector is a huge part of the Ohio economy. And at Central State University, they’re interested in preparing Ohioans to be part of that industry. Central state is an 1890 land grant institution, and as such, is charged with teaching, research and outreach activities while providing students with a quality, affordable education. How they’re carrying out the mission is our topic tod...

How do we have a food secure world? How do we do it without a harmful environmental impact? What are the relationships between the environment, animals and people? And what are the implications of 11.5 million Ohioans smack in the middle of 15 million acres of farmland? Cathann Kress would like to find some answers to these questions, and as Ohio State’s new ag college dean, she’s in position to m...

How’s the economy doing? Depends who you ask. A small business owner looking for labor to expand might have one answer. A retiree living off her 401k returns might have another. You would also get other views by asking farmers, politicians, salesmen or heads of households. Today, we get some broad thoughts on the state of the economy, plus hear some thoughts on long term economic trends. Economist...

After a summer where the budget took up much of the state legislature’s time, lawmakers are turning their attention to other issues. Meanwhile, Democrats and Republicans are starting to shake out their candidates for next year’s statewide races. Keeping an eye on all of the above are Julie Carr Smyth of the Associated Press and Jim Siegel of the Columbus Dispatch. They’re in to help us all get a h...

It’s hard to not be constantly reminded that the world is a risky place. But as Americans, how much attention do we really pay to foreign affairs and to what extent do we support military action abroad. A leading political scientist who studies our views on global conflict is our guest today and, his analysis of the current Korean situation is something we all need to hear. OSU’s Dr. John Mueller...

Call it climate change, global warming or any other term and you’re likely to stir up some emotions. Regardless of your opinions, there is one fact that is hard to argue with - our weather and weather patterns are changing. Today, we talk with two members of the state climate office of Ohio about the science of measuring and predicting climatic occurrences, and what we can do with the facts that s...