Social Networking, Local Economies, and Agroecosystem Health
Dr. Casey Hoy
Kellogg Endowed Chair in Agricultural Ecosystems Management at The Ohio State University
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
10:30 am to 11:30 am.
Videolink to this seminar Geneva available in 102 Mann Library
Abstract:
Social Networking, Local Economies, and Agroecosystem Health
Casey Hoy, Agroecosystems Management Program, OARDC
Agriculture in its many forms still accounts for approximately one third of the Ohio economy. Sustainability in agriculture, however, requires a reconnection of people with the land and farming, and economic opportunities that not only sustain farms economically but also forge strong bonds between farms and communities and protect and enhance the soil and biodiversity on which agriculture depends. Through grants from the USDA SCRI Regional Partnerships for Innovation program and the Fund for Our Economic Future, the Agroecosystems Management Program of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center is working to build local economies starting with food systems but also the advanced energy and renewable bioproducts that come from agriculture. This seminar will review a methodology we have explored for describing and mapping agroecosystem health in terms of both people and the land. Our approach to and experience with building partnerships using social networking tools and curriculum will be shared and participation in growing networks will be invited. Finally, a generic model will be described for building local economies that provide a needed counterbalance to the global economy and provide economic incentive for healthy and sustainable agroecosystems.
Casey Hoy holds the Kellogg Endowed Chair in Agricultural Ecosystems Management at The Ohio State University, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center. His background is in economic entomology, quantitative ecology and systems analysis. He currently works with colleagues in both the natural/physical and social/behavioral sciences and a wide range of stakeholder partners in leading the interdisciplinary Agroecosystems Management Program.