OSLN Design Challenge 2019

Get your thinking started around all the different ways food security connects with STEM and Ohio’s #1 industry and careers!

Ohio has 28 million acres, 14 million in agriculture production
Ag is the number one economic driver, bringing in over $105B each year
One in seven Ohioans has a job related to agriculture and food
One-third of Ohioans face food security issues
USDA predicts 60,000 annual openings nationwide in food, agriculture and the environment, with 25% of these jobs directly related to STEM. Currently, about 35,000 students graduate with expertise to fill these job, leaving a large gap
Challenges related to growing populations, climate change, adequate water resources, and the need for renewable energy call for leaders with expertise in problem solving in STEM

Food affordability/quantity

What factors determine the costs of foods?

How much food is produced?

How many calories of food are produced?

Why are people still hungry?

Reasons for hunger

Food waste

What can be done in your local community to reduce food waste?

How can we change the amount of food wasted?

What role does marketing/communication play in purchasing? (food labels, expiration dates, safe storage)

Reading food labels

Local/global markets

How might seasonal availability affect local/global purchases/buying decisions?

What is available seasonally?

How realistic/possible is it to rely solely on local markets?

Food preservation methods [1], [2]
Food safety [1], [2]

How does infrastructure play a role in availability? What are the elements of infrastructure?

Food insecurity: is there a problem in your community? [1], [2], [3]
Food deserts: where is the nearest grocery store?

Agriculture systems

What effect do inputs have on outputs in an agricultural system?

Produce farms in Ohio
Corn/soybean rotation
Fertilizers/Manure, herbicides, insecticides [1], [2], [3]
Organic farms in Ohio
Seed varieties

What grows in Ohio?

Top 10 Ohio Agriculture Products

How does technology influence the ratio of inputs to outputs?

Livestock

How important is animal feed?

Do pollinators make a difference?

Bee health is critical: Bee video (to be posted this week)
How important are pollinators?
What are farmers doing to increase the number of pollinators? 1, 2

Big data

What kind of data is being collected?

Soil health (nutrient levels and pH) [1], [2]

How is it being collected?

How is big data changing the future of agriculture?

Big Data in Smart Farming: a review

Water

How are modern agricultural practices impacting water quality?

How can conventional/modern agricultural practices impact water use?

Bioeconomy

How can biofuels impact environmental concerns?

How does the range of added value products (bioproducts) contribute to the bioeconomy?

Bioproducts

Sustainability

How might farming methods affect sustainability (i.e. conventional, no-till, strip tillage, organic, livestock, grass-fed systems, non-GMO)?

What are the [economic, environmental, market] consequences of our dietary choices?

Government policy and farming

Government policy influences many aspects of food production.

What governmental policies are impacting farms today and what might be some new ways to positively impact farmer behaviors?

How might farmers be encouraged to use the most up-to-date technologies to address environmental concerns?

Biotechnology

How might biotechnology methods support sustainable, nutritious food systems and reduce food waste?

How might food fortification affect public health, and what are the challenges?