Extension
It Starts With Us
Author: Roger "Darrell" Simpson
Major Program: Farm Management
Farm management includes and involves many facets of the farm business operation. Some farm businesses may be several hundred or thousands of acres requiring the need for oversize farm equipment to be transported on public highways in a safe and legal manner. Muhlenberg County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Darrell Simpson, and Curtis Dame, Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources from Hopkins county worked to produce an educational video regarding tran
Author: April Wilhoit
Major Program: Farm Management
September 11, 2018 the Fleming County Extension Service Agriculture & Natural Resources hosted a Fencing School. The fencing school was a collaboration of the Ag Agent as well as a couple of fencing companies. Twenty-four people attended the Fencing School which covered topics such as: fencing 101 (fencing basics), hands on fence building demonstrations, fencing laws, NRCS programs and requirements, and Farm Service Agency programs. 100% of the attendees that were eva
Author: Garrard Coffey
Major Program: Farm Management
A freeze branding field day was held on Ed Ross' farm on October the 2nd. The proper use of freeze branding irons cooled in liquid nitrogen was demonstrated. This was a hands on class that the participants were invited to use the irons and under the supervision of my self. It was also discussed how the use of freeze branding over ear tags was a better identification source. By using the branding cattle identification can be tracked and better records can be kept on t
Author: Robert Kirby
Major Program: Farm Management
In Knox County an effort was made to increase Ag Council participation, develop new ideas for programs and accommodate producers and clientele who can't participate at evening meetings. The first Monday of each month has been set aside for a morning meeting called News and Views. Producers are invited to come to the office for coffee, juice and refreshments and have a impromptu discussion pertaining to the topic of interest to them and allows for the agent to remind them of the s
Author: Chelsey Anderson
Major Program: Farm Management
In 2012 Cumberland County had a total of 371 farm operations according to CEDIK. With this in mind along with the increase of on farm accidents across the nation, the Family and Consumer Science agent and the Agriculture and Natural Resources agent decided to host a Farmers Dinner Theater. This event took place on November 13, 2018 at the Cumberland County Extension Office. The audience, which consisted of 45, listened and watched two skits put on by local farmers that covered hearing loss, sun
Author: Jason Phillips
Major Program: Farm Management
The Simpson County Ag Advisory Council identified agricultural awareness as a priority in Extension programming due to a distinct disconnect between the producer and consumer. They worked with the Extension Agent for Agriculture to develop, implement and evaluate a series of programs in 2018 that focused on agricultural awareness.One of these programs was the North Simpson Twilight Farm Tour. The tour focused on agriculture in the Northern tier of Simpson County and was intended to showcase the
Author: T. Adam Probst
Major Program: Farm Management
Funding resources for farmers are often crucial to starting a new farm business and even sustaining an existing one. The Woodford County Extension Office receives many inquiries from clientele asking about grants, loans, and cost share opportunities to help offset the costs of either starting their farm business or expanding, sustaining, and/or diversifying their current operation. In an effort to pull all of the funding resources together, the Woodford County Extension Service partnered with th
Author: Roger "Darrell" Simpson
Major Program: Farm Management
Pasture and forage management is key to a profitable ruminant livestock operation. Darrell Simpson, Matt Adams, and Clay Stamm, Extension Agents for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Muhlenberg, Hardin, and Clark counties collaborated with Dr. Greg Halich, Agricultural Economist, Dr. Ray Smith and Dr. Chris Teutsch, Forage Specialists, and Dr. Jeff Lehmkuhler, Beef Specialist from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Food and Environment and Natural Resource and Conservatio
Author: David Coffey
Major Program: Farm Management
With help from the Agriculture advisory council, the Jackson County ANR extension agent developed an Interactive Farm Management program. This program had an initial meeting in March where 16 producers were in attendance. Management ideas were given to producers and each producer set a long-term and a short-term goal for their operation during the meeting. The agriculture agent then made routine visits for the remainder of the year to each producer to help them plan and implement their goals. Th
Author: Heather Graham
Major Program: Farm Management
On October 12, 2018, the 2nd Annual Farm Safety Field Day was held at the Community Park in Campton. This is a joint effort between the Wolfe Co. Extension ANR Program and Wolfe Co. Farm Bureau. Topics covered this year included: KY's Agribility program, farm stress, pesticide/chemical safety, food safety on the farm (healthy snacking), fire prevention, and preparing equipment for winter.Those in attendance received received a lot of information about the proper use and storage of various ch
Author: Michelle Simon
Major Program: Farm Management
Farming is known as one of the most dangerous occupations worldwide. In Boone County this statistic is the same, there have been multiple accidents to date in the county involving farm and garden related equipment, chainsaws, chemicals and livestock that have caused serious, and sometimes fatal, injuries. The majority of the agricultural community in Boone County are part- time farmers trying to do “full-time” farm work after working a full-time job off the farm. This leads to increa
Author: Roger "Darrell" Simpson
Major Program: Farm Management
Utilizing all available resources to their maximum potential is key to reducing costs and increasing profit in the beef cattle business. Darrell Simpson Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Muhlenberg County along with Kevin Laurent, Senior Associate for beef cattle production, and Dr. Chris Teutsch, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Food and Environment, Forage Specialists worked with a local producer representing Hopkins and Muhlenberg counties to meet that goal
Author: Matthew Adams
Major Program: Farm Management
Pasture and forage management is key to a profitable ruminant livestock operation. Darrell Simpson, Matt Adams, and Clay Stamm, Extension Agents for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Muhlenberg, Hardin, and Clark counties collaborated with Dr. Greg Halich, Agricultural Economist, Dr. Ray Smith and Dr. Chris Teutsch, Forage Specialists, and Dr. Jeff Lehmkuhler, Beef Specialist from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Food and Environment and Natural Resource and Conservatio
Author: Michelle Simon
Major Program: Farm Management
The current trend for agriculture in Kentucky and the U.S. is “get big, or get out”. Our dairy farmers have continued to take hits from this trend and the number of dairy farms in Kentucky is at an all-time low. Other commodity areas are quickly following suit including the poultry and hog industries. In response to this trend, Boone County Extension worked to provide another option for producers that don’t have the option to “get big”… instead, “specia
Author: Curtis Dame
Major Program: Farm Management
Skilled labor is a highly debated and sought after need for business development and expansion in Hopkins County, Kentucky. Cooperative programming efforts facilitated by the Madisonville-Hopkins County Economic Development Corporation (MHEDC) and the Hopkins County Cooperative Extension Service have highlighted the needs for a skilled agricultural workforce with vocal support received from local large farming operations. With that said efforts have been extensively pursued with Madisonville Com
Author: Whitney Carman
Major Program: Farm Management
Based on the USDA Census of Agriculture, from 2012 to 2017, farm operations with a female principal producer went from 185 to 439. The Grayson County Cooperative Extension Service has noticed an increase in female clientele in programming and for walk in consultations on different topics. There was Even after the Farm Basics program that Farm Service Agency collaborated on, the participation continued to increase. The Agriculture agent saw a need based on the types of questions that were being f
Author: Whitney Carman
Major Program: Farm Management
Fencing projects are an investment that many farmers do not take lightly. Done correctly, it can be a 25 year investment. Understanding basic principles of fencing can help a producer understand how fence their own property, or to understand the cost associated with hiring someone to do it for their farm.Based on the idea of an advisory council member, the Agriculture agent worked with this producer/fence contractor to develop a program for participants to learn basic fencing techniques and try
Author: Jerry Little
Major Program: Farm Management
The Boyle County Farm Bureau Federation applied and were approved for $113,000 in Agriculture Development Funds for the CAIP program. There were 117 applications and 56 were funded. The extension office is the main clearing house for all the paperwork including applications and receipts. The program was started during the last fiscal year and completed this year. The local farm bureau federation has again applied for cost share funds in the amount of $153,000 and that program will be completed b
Author: Jerry Little
Major Program: Farm Management
The ANR agent was approached by the Boyle county soil conservation board to host a field day to better showcase extension and the cost share programs available through NRCS. The Boyle county Soil Conservation enacted a small tax on property to help fund the program and they wanted to create more visablity. The ANR agent set the field day up at Caverndale farms. Feeding barns, manure stack pads, feeding stillage, forage sampling, producing grain efficiently, and electrical safety on the farm were
Author: Tarrah Hardin
Major Program: Farm Management
I was invited to talk to local diary producers about the financial challenges they are facing and how to look at the income tax issues as well. This was for about a group of 11 farmers with their county ag agents. This group was very thoughtful in their questions and left the meeting thinking about their future in the industry. A week or two later someone mentioned to me in passing that a producer that had attended was still thinking about the topics/dicussion that took place and that I lead the
Author: Mattea Mitchell
Major Program: Farm Management
The Agriculture and Natural Resources Agents from Fulton, Hickman, and Carlisle Counties talked for several years of developing a program for the producers in their counties that were beginning their own operations or working into becoming the decision-makers of the family operations.Existing programs like Ky FarmStart or Next Generation Farmer were programs that had some of the topics these producers needed, but did not fit into large grain only operations or grain/contract livestock operations
Author: Colby Guffey
Major Program: Farm Management
An all-day fencing school was held in Cumberland County on April 11th in collaboration with Cumberland County Extension. This was one of three regional schools held in the state. The school consisted of speakers from the University of Kentucky, Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Stay-Tuff, Gallagher, and ACI. In total 25 participated in the day long schooling while representing eight different counties in the state. Participants stated that they learned new techniques for fencing using fix
Author: Colby Guffey
Major Program: Farm Management
Clinton County Cooperative Extension partnered with the Clinton County Farm Bureau Board of directors and the Clinton County FFA Chapter to host a farm safety day at Bluegrass Stockyards of Albany. The farm safety day consisted of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s roll-over tractor simulator and grain bin rescue demonstration, Kentucky Department of Forestry’s chainsaw safety demonstration, Clinton County’s 4-H ATV safety demonstration, Clinton County SNAP-Ed Home
Author: Benjamin Rudy
Major Program: Farm Management
The Agriculture and Natural Resources Agents from Fulton, Hickman, and Carlisle Counties talked for several years of developing a program for the producers in their counties that were beginning their own operations or working into becoming the decision-makers of the family operations.Existing programs like Ky FarmStart or Next Generation Farmer were programs that had some of the topics these producers needed, but did not fit into large grain only operations or grain/contract livestock operations
Author: Bonnie Sigmon
Major Program: Farm Management
Record keeping is a tedious task that many producers try to avoid. However, for an agricultural production endeavor to succeed, business records are vital. Reviewing and comparing the information can provide the producer with valuable insight as to whether or not a practice has been successful and potential areas for improvement. Good records lead to better decisions and, ultimately, higher returns.Record keeping practices are discussed and highly recommended during all of my pr
Author: Clinton Hardy
Major Program: Farm Management
Commodity grain producers and landowners have endured five years of paradigm shift adjusting to lower commodity prices and subsequent revenue in 2019 and foreseeable future. Assets and debt acquired during the dramatic climb in revenues between 2008 and 2014 have become an obstacle for many farm businesses to overcome. With no substantial increase in revenue predicted for the next ten years according to the USDA, some businesses face the risk of depleting equity in order to cash flow
Author: Ricky Arnett
Major Program: Farm Management
Phase I funding continues to play an integral part of the agriculture of Green County. The Green County Agricultural Development Board helped to administer over $320,000 to the agriculture producers of Green County. Starting this year the Green County Agricultural Development Board implemented one new change of funding which was every other year availability. This has helped the program to reach new individuals with help to their operation. The council funded producers with the C.A.I.P. pro
Author: Ricky Arnett
Major Program: Farm Management
Over the past 4 years Hemp Production has been an increasing adventure for Green County farmers. In 2016 Green County started with two Hemp growers. In 2017 we had 4, in 2018 we had 8, and in 2019 we have 33 farmers growing Hemp in Green County. In 2017 and 2018 crop year I continually had more and more request for information and question on Hemp Production. So in 2018 I invested several hour and days gathering research. This included visiting Hemp companies, producers, online searches, an
Author: Shonda Johnston
Major Program: Farm Management
Between 2007 and 2012, the Kentucky has had a 6.7% decrease in the number of acres of farmland, which was the greatest percentage decrease of any state in the U.S. during this time period (Census of Agriculture, 2012). While Kentucky’s population continues to increase, the number of people living on farms is decreasing. Therefore, the need exists to educate people, particularly youth, about the impact that agriculture makes on their daily lives, as well as the importance of agriculture to
Author: Jordan Shockley
Major Program: Farm Management
In 2016, a three-year grant was awarded from USDA-NIFA to conduct research and outreach regarding cover crops and their environmental, agronomic, and economic benefits. This project is a multistate, multidisciplinary effort between the University of Kentucky and Mississippi State University. In 2018-2019, the outreach portion of the grant launched which included an economic decision tool for determining the cost of establishing and terminating cover crops. A graduate student at
Author: Kendal Bowman
Major Program: Farm Management
With the Agriculture Economy on the downward slope, farmers could always use extra funds to assist with their farming practices. Owen County Agriculture and Natural Resource Agent Kendal Bowman organized an "Ag Funding Workshop". At this workshop producers were able to learn about various grants, loans, and other resources to improve their farm. Local banks, Ag lenders, FSA, Conservation Groups, KSU, GOAP, and KY Proud had booths set up around the room to provide materials to the atten
Author: Lindie Huffman
Major Program: Farm Management
The typical farm in Northern Kentucky is a small family operation with limited agricultural profitability. Many of the farm operators have less than ten years of experience managing a farm operation as a business. Though urban development has decreased farm sizes, it has opened potential for local food market expansion.In an effort to better serve these new beginning farm business operators the Campbell, Kenton, and Pendleton County extension agents conducted a Farm Start series that focused on
Author: Jonathan Shepherd
Major Program: Farm Management
Worked with a farm family that was suffering significant farm financial stress given current farm economics. It was determined that pivoting from the current business model was needed to ensure economic viability. I worked with the farm family to help them develop a new business plan and a 3 year transition plan. We are in year 1 of the transition and things are going to plan.
Author: Kenneth Burdine
Major Program: Farm Management
The department of Agricultural Economics continues to conduct successful programming aimed at meeting the needs of Kentucky’s agricultural lenders. In December 2018 and January 2019, over 150 lenders attended one of these four conferences at either Lexington, Hopkinsville, Mayfield or Henderson. Topics included the overall Kentucky ag economy, marketing and profitability for both grain and cattle, and an update from the local Kentucky Farm Business Management program. An
Author: Jonathan Shepherd
Major Program: Farm Management
Help co-create enterprise budgets for the emerging hemp enterprise. These budgets have been used widely not only by producers but also industry to, at the very least, think through all of the line item revenue and expense areas. These budgets have been widely used and updated as the industry matures in its every changing evolutionary path.
Author: Kenneth Burdine
Major Program: Farm Management
Agricultural producers continue to deal with challenges related to farm financial stress. The department of Agricultural Economics held feedback / discussion sessions with extension agents and agricultural lenders during fall and winter of 2018/2019. It was determined that a set of resources was needed for farmers as they consider their options during this time and for agents and lenders as they work through these options with their clientele. For this reason, the agricultural
Author: Kenneth Burdine
Major Program: Farm Management
Cow-calf operations are the most common type of beef enterprise in the state of Kentucky as Kentucky is home to more than one-million beef cows. Historically, cow-calf profits have been very low due to the small nature of most of the operations, the cost of hay production, and high overhead requirements. During 2018 / 2019, an effort was made to focus more extension programming on strategies aimed at improving profitability for cow-calf operations. This topic was covered at 16
Author: Jennifer Rogers
Major Program: Farm Management
I was able to work with a producer to complete a Cash Flow for his farming operation. This was a new exercise for the producer who had never thought about his cash flow needs on a monthly and cumulative basis. The producer was stretched to think about forecasting when and how much money would be needed to purchase inputs and when and how much money would be coming in from the sale of crops. We were able to complete this exercise and submit it to the Lender. Through this p
Author: Christan Miracle
Major Program: Farm Management
Progressive Agriculture Safety Day is an event that teaches 4th grade students from Marion County about being safe in their community, home, and on the farm. Out rural community is in need of a program such as this to ensure youth have the proper skill set to stay safe while on the farm. During this event each child had the opportunity to visit several station to learn safe behaviors when they are faced with different scenarios. Some of the stations included equipment safety, electrical safety,
Author: Christan Miracle
Major Program: Farm Management
NRCS and Extension have made a leap to start working together on what they call demo farms around the state for a program call Profitable Pastures. Doug Corbett, a Marion Co. resident, volunteered to be a part of this program. His farm is limited in some resources and he is wanting to get an idea of changes to make to get his farm to be more profitable. Some of the limitation that were noticed when first visiting the farm are water, shade, and rotational grazing. With the help of other colleague
