Two Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine students, Juan Hernández Cuevas and Elizabeth Ohl, were among 10 students to receive the 2024 American Association of Swine Veterinarians Foundation and Merck Animal Health Veterinary student scholarship.

The program is designed to inspire students to further their veterinary education.

Merck Animal Health awarded a total of $50,000 in scholarships — $5,000 for each student — which were announced at the 55th AASV annual meeting, held Feb. 24-27 in Nashville, Tenn.

Second- and third-year students enrolled in American Veterinary Medical Association-accredited or recognized colleges of veterinary medicine in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South America and the Caribbean Islands are eligible for the scholarship. Learn more at aasv.org.

Tietje wins OFB Collegiate Discussion Meet

Ryanna Tietje of Ohio State University’s Collegiate Farm Bureau is the winner of Ohio Farm Bureau’s 2024 Collegiate Discussion Meet competition, which was held Jan. 27.

The Collegiate Discussion Meet tests participants’ subject knowledge, problem-solving abilities and communications skills around agricultural issues. The competition is designed for young agricultural professionals to work together to find solutions around these agricultural issues.

Tietje grew up on her family’s grain farm in northwest Ohio where they raise corn and soybeans. She is a senior at Ohio State University, studying agribusiness and applied economics with a minor in consumer and family financial services.

Tietje is also president of the OSU Agribusiness Club, a peer mentor for the OSU Honors program, and a member of the Advisory Council for the Farm Financial Management and Policy Institute. After graduation, she plans to return to the family farm and pursue a career in farm financial management or grain risk management.

As the winner, she receives a $1,000 scholarship and complimentary registration to the 2024 Young Farmers & Ranchers Leadership Conference in Omaha, Neb., where she will compete at the national level.

In addition to Tietje, the other Collegiate Discussion Meet finalists are Ruth Beery of Wilmington College, and Raegan Feldner and Sarah Hoak, both of OSU.

The OFB Collegiate Farm Bureau program serves as a connection between industry professionals and students, promotes agriculture and related fields, and works to develop future leaders of the agriculture industry by providing opportunities for students in leadership and civic engagement, career development, professional development, and experiential learning.

Learn more at ohiofarmbureau.org.

Earth Day program celebrates native plants

April is native plant month. With Ohio being the first state in America to adopt this designation, it makes sense that native plants take center stage at the April 22 Earth Day celebration by Ohio State University’s Environmental Professionals Network.

Titled “Eat This Earth Day,” the program will take place from 4:45 to 7:30 p.m. at the Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Road, on Ohio State’s campus and virtually, worldwide, through an EPN livestream production. 

Using native plants for food will take center stage at this year’s event. Held in collaboration with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences’ Chadwick Arboretum & Learning Gardens, participants will have an opportunity to learn about the edible flora of the Buckeye state and discover — over long periods of history through the tastes, smells and eyes of diverse native wildlife and human cultures, both ancient and present — how these plants have sustained life.  

There will also be opportunities to engage with interactive exhibits and experts from OSU Extension, CFAES’ statewide outreach arm; enjoy drinks prepared from Asimina triloba (American papaw), Acer saccharum (sugar maple), and Vaccinium pallidum (lowbush blueberry); and learn about the 2024 Ohio Native Plants of Distinction.

Eat This Earth Day is a free public event. See the complete program and register here.  

This program will be livestreamed on the EPN YouTube page. Additional information on livestream connections is available to those who register as a virtual participant for this event. 

Farm Credit Mid-Americas providing $1.25B in patronage

The farmer-owned and led cooperative Farm Credit Mid-Americas will return a total of $255 million to eligible customers this month, bringing the amount returned over the past eight years through its patronage program to $1.25 billion. 

The board of directors votes to approve patronage annually. The amount of patronage that eligible customer-owners receive is proportionate to their level of transaction of eligible business with the cooperative during 2023.

To learn more about Farm Credit Mid-America’s patronage program, including eligibility requirements and customer-owner testimonials, visit fcma.com/about/patronage.

“Our customer-owners trust our cooperative to stand with them through good and challenging times,” says Melanie Strait-Bok, senior vice president of agricultural lending for Ohio. “It’s an honor to connect with them again during Patronage Week and continue to recognize the hard work required to grow food, fuel and fiber for the world.”