Students caring for crops while wearing masks and social distancing at the student farm.

Resilience in Full Bloom at Ohio State’s Student Farm

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July 9, 2020

By: Meredith Oglesby 

On a sunny May day when the ground at the university’s Student Farm should have been set in perfect rows with sprouts of vegetables just coming through the surface, the students instead returned to overgrown plots for the first time since March. 

Students began planting seed tomatoes, peppers and eggplant in the Howlett greenhouse in early March to prepare for planting season after spring break. However, these plans quickly changed with the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the student workers found themselves cooped up indoors, studying and working remotely rather than in the fields, they never stopped planning for the 2020 growing season.

During a typical summer, students plant and tend the crops, learn more about sustainable farming techniques and use their plots to conduct research. For the summer of 2020, though, students have also learned how to stay resilient during tough times as they overcome the many challenges presented during the pandemic. 

The Student Farm is nestled on the Columbus campus of Ohio State amid the Waterman and Natural Resources Laboratory on an almost 4-acre plot. The farm aligns with the university’s sustainability goals and provides students with learning and research opportunities. Students have hands-on learning experiences surrounding topics of food justice, environment, agriculture and sustainability. 

“The farm is a place where people can really explore anything they are interested in and learn more about the things they are curious about such as how food is produced, where it’s coming from and the cycles and needs for different plants,” says Rachel Kopniske, a politics, philosophy and economics major and outreach coordinator for the farm.

At any given time, the farm has four to five student workers, 10-20 consistent student volunteers with hundreds of volunteers visiting in a year and support from faculty advisors Chris Ratcliff, a food, agriculture and biological engineering lecturer, and Kristin Mercer, horticulture and crop science associate professor. 

“Largely, our goals are to provide opportunities for students,” Ratcliff says. 

To get back in the fields and planting, the students requested and received permission from the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. After teleworking from March 19 to May 14, they returned to the farm. 

“Going forward, our work will look a bit different by integrating safety measures for COVID-19,” says Andrew Yates, a mechanical engineering major and production co-lead for the student farm.

Farm workers social distance while working, wear masks and disinfect surfaces and tools. For those interested in volunteering, the Student Farm has a sign-up sheet with shifts available Monday-Friday, from 8-11:30 a.m. Volunteers must fill out the Ohio State app health check, record when they enter and leave Waterman farm and bring a mask. 

“We anticipate being able to still plant most everything we initially intended,” Yates says. “However, the timing and quantities of crops will be different.”

The students planted the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant from the greenhouse and have garlic, onions and spinach growing from last fall. As they clear the plots, they will assess what to plant for the remainder of the summer. 

“It’s been amazing to see these student farmers display the sort of flexibility and determination needed after being forced off the farm for two really critical months,” Ratcliff says. “It’s been a huge task to get the farm back on track, and now it’s already looking as good as it ever has.”

Normally students donate the produce to food pantries or sell it at local farmers markets across Columbus, Ohio. “One big change this summer will be the destination of our produce,” Yates says. “In light of the pandemic, we are planning to donate all produce to the Buckeye Food Alliance on campus.” Buckeye Food Alliance is the student-run food pantry on Ohio State’s campus.

Any Ohio State student can get more involved in the farm through the Student Growing Collaborative. Through this organization, students meet weekly to learn more about farming practices and agriculture, engage in workdays at the farm and listen to guest speakers.

Students also use the Student Farm as a place to conduct research projects on a range of topics. Currently the main research project focuses on Mexican corn landraces, a traditional variety of maize, and finding signs of nitrogen fixation from the atmosphere. Plants form symbiotic relationships with soil microorganisms that pull nitrogen directly from the atmosphere. Ratcliff explains that it’s believed some varieties of corn can also pull nitrogen from the atmosphere via microorganisms living in a gel that covers the plants' aerial roots. Among other tests, the students will study the plant tissue to look for signs that the composition is partly from atmospheric nitrogen.

“It would be an extremely interesting finding that corn could effectively self-fertilize,” Ratcliff says.

The Student Farm received a $94,741 grant from the Ohio State Sustainability Fund to advance the university's academic and operational sustainability goals. Nearly half of that funding enhances the hands-on sustainable agriculture learning opportunities through developing a farm apprenticeship course, introducing a service-learning course, hosting workshops for the university and central Ohio communities, and paying the student workers. The funding also will support installation of a solar-powered cold storage unit for produce. The remaining funds will help engage students in Ohio State’s food system through direct marketing of the student-grown produce on campus and by composting a portion of Ohio State’s organic waste stream.

Although the students have faced challenges, they have stayed devoted in their efforts to learn more about sustainability and agriculture and also provide the Ohio State community with fresh food. To stay up to date with the Student Farm, follow their Facebook and Instagram pages. 

Meredith Oglesby is a communication assistant at the Sustainability Institute.