OSU’s John E. Hirzel Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Site

This demonstration and research site was established in partnership with The Agricultural Incubator Foundation of Bowling Green to promote, through research, demonstration, and education, vital agricultural systems in northwest Ohio, that are economically, ecologically and socially sustainable.  Two projects are underway at the site:

•     The establishment of a replicated farming systems experiment that demonstrates different options in sustainable crop production and marketing and creates a foundation and framework for long-term agronomic, environmental and socioeconomic research.

•     The creation of opportunities for young agricultural entrepreneurs from the region to experiment with and demonstrate creative sustainable agriculture ideas to gain a better understanding of what occurs with crop production and soil changes when farmers transition from one management system to another. The treatments chosen for this experiment represent a range of conditions experienced by farmers transitioning either to organic or other more diversified crop management systems.  Overall, the experiment is addressing ways to maintain production and economic viability while building soil quality. 

Farmers (including the Hirzel family), in this region have been working with these types of management systems for many years.  With this experiment, we are gaining a more detailed understanding of the changes occurring under controlled conditions, with the objective of using this information to help farmers with transition in their operations.

Contact OFFER for more information.