Dan Armitage

Worthington

Outdoor Writer at Ohio's Country Journal and Ohio Ag Net

Features Writer at Freelance

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Articles

Boat inspections are highly recommended

1 week ago | ocj.com | Dan Armitage

By Dan ArmitageOne of the first things I do to start each boating season is to get a sanctioned safety inspection and the sticker awarded to boaters who pass. By displaying that sticker on my boat, I avoid being pulled over for random inspections for the balance of the boating season. I don’t have anything to hide; it’s just that doing so helps keep me from being interrupted while fishing, cruising, or relaxing.
Succession planning mistakes

1 month ago | ocj.com | Joe Everett |Bernadette Arehart |Dan Armitage

By Joe Everett, Ohio Ag NetAll year farmers are busy maintaining and working on their farms. One thing that sometimes slips through the cracks is planning for the future of their operations. It can sometimes be a difficult topic but is vital to the existence of America’s family farms. According to the USDA, an estimated 70% of U.S. farmland is expected to change hands within the next 20 years. Some of this farmland could unintentionally be sold out of the family if not handled correctly.
Record numbers of overnighters - Ohio Ag Net | Ohio's Country Journal

1 month ago | ocj.com | Dan Armitage

By Dan Armitage, OCJ outdoors writerLast year was a record-breaking year for overnight stays at Ohio State parks, when the agency recorded an impressive 1,112,179 overnight stays. The previous record-holding year was 2023 with 1,098,932 overnight reservations. Of the overnight stays, more than 919,600 stays were at state-operated campsites, cabins, camper cabins, and yurts, while approximately 192,500 nights were booked in one of Ohio’s 10 state park lodges and the accompanying lodge cabins.
Thrills and adventures in Columbia

2 months ago | ocj.com | Don Sanders |Dan Armitage

By Don “Doc” SandersColombia is a great country to visit, with beautiful mountains, border ranches and countryside, clearly displaying the importance of agriculture to the nation. And that’s why I was there, on one of my international consulting trips. I and my late wife, Kristen, found the environmental conditions to be ideal when we arrived in Bogota on a Delta flight. It was the dead of winter in Colombia, with daytime temperatures peaking at 75degrees F and nighttime temperatures in the 60s.
Grants fund local YAP programming

2 months ago | ocj.com | Dan Armitage

Country Life, Top Headlines Eight local Young Agricultural Professionals groups have been awarded $500 grants for educational programming or events they are planning or that have taken place already in 2025. The local grants are a part of Farm Credit Mid-America’s $100,000 donation to Farm Bureau young leader programs in its six-state region of Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio and Tennessee.
Learning to catch

2 months ago | ocj.com | Dan Armitage

By Dan Armitage, OCJ outdoors writerAs an Ohio kid growing up in suburbia, I loved to fish. The problem was, winter meant mean weather and with my Dad being a fair-weather fisherman and my sole transportation source to and from local waters, the closest thing to wetting a line this time of year was going to the local sport show. Luckily, my Dad obliged.
Stocking up - Ohio Ag Net

2 months ago | ocj.com | Dan Armitage

By Dan Armitage, OCJ outdoors writerMore than 46 million fish were stocked in Ohio’s lakes, ponds, rivers and streams in 2024 by the Ohio Division of Wildlife (ODOW). Eleven different species of fish were stocked during the spring, summer, and fall at 228 locations statewide, good news for Ohio’s 849,000 licensed anglers.
Fishing participation way up

2 months ago | ocj.com | Dan Armitage

By Dan Armitage, OCJ outdoors writerBack in 2016, anglers were dropping out of the sport faster than new participants were joining. Since that time, efforts by state agencies have been critical in driving increases in fishing participation. In fact, the 2024 Special Report on Fishing reported a record-high 57.7. million Americans went fishing, surpassing participation rates even from the peak years during the COVID shutdown.
Drought conditions lingering into winter

Feb 3, 2025 | ocj.com | Matt Reese |Dan Armitage

By Matt ReeseSince late summer, the implications of the devastating drought of 2024 have loomed large for many in Ohio agriculture. “We still do have drought conditions out there across portions of the state — both abnormally dry and moderate drought conditions. It is primarily dry in northwest Ohio and southeast Ohio where they have not had as much precipitation since November. They were also some the driest areas this summer.
Ohio Sea Grant looks back at 2024 summary of algal bloom research

Feb 2, 2025 | ocj.com | Dan Armitage

The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science reported that the 2024 western Lake Erie cyanobacterial bloom had a severity index (SI) of 6.6, which is moderately severe, and more intense than 2023 (SI of 5.3). The SI captures the amount of biomass over the peak 30-days of the bloom, calculated using satellite imagery. Bloom severity was slightly above the seasonal forecast issued on June 27, which predicted a SI between 4.5 and 6.