Register now for Farmland Preservation Summit in October

The ninth annual Ohio Farmland Preservation Summit will take place Oct. 2 from 8:15 a.m.-4 p.m., at the new Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center on the Ohio State University campus in Columbus. Citizens, farmers, landowners, local officials, land trusts and other interested parties are invited to attend. Registration for the event closes Sept. 17.

This year's summit theme, Bonding Ohio Together, will highlight speakers from successful township, county and nonprofit programs, who will provide examples of collaborative land-use strategies. Keynote speaker David Kline, who is a farmer, Amish minister, as well as author and publisher of Farming Magazine, will speak to his many perspectives and experiences in working toward farmland protection in Ohio. The day will feature breakout sessions on a variety of topics ranging from landowner basics, statewide land-use policies, creative funding sources, and agriculture in the local economy.

Registration forms and fee of $40, which includes lunch, are due Sept. 17. Forms are available at http://www.ohioagriculture.gov/oda3/admn/farm/admn_farm_summit.stm or by calling 614-728-6210.

The summit, which is the largest farmland preservation gathering in the state, is co-hosted by a planning committee that includes the Ohio Department of Agriculture, American Farmland Trust, Otterbein College, the Tecumseh Land Trust and Ohio State's Center for Farmland Policy Innovation and Agriculture and Resource Law Program.