Extension
It Starts With Us
Enhancing Agriculture Management and Marketing
Growing Grayson County through Rural, Youth, and Community Development
Whitney Carman
Forages
Beef
Grains
Farm Management, Economics and Policy
Agriculture in Grayson County is an integral part of the economic system. In 2017 the total value of crop and livestock cash receipts for Grayson County was 59.5 million dollars. Balancing input costs, value of crops and livestock, and marketing techniques are always changing, making it harder for farmers and agriculturalists to be profitable. Another issue is the increase in average farmer age, thus the importance of estate transitional planning. Therefore, it is important to educate farmers on the latest information available from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture food and Environment, and industry partners so they can make educated decisions to help increase the vitality and profitability of their enterprises.
Farmers and Producers will adopt integrated systems of animal and plant production which sustain and/or enhance the economic vitality of their agricultural enterprise. Production methods utilized will increase the amount of commodities produced and enhance their economic value. It is anticipated that there will continue to be an increase in inexperienced farmers and new farmers in 2020 and beyond.
Producers will utilize new management and marketing skills learned from the Cooperative Extension Service programs that can increase the chance of agricultural enterprise profitability. More farmers will make decisions to work on estate plans, succession plans, and avenues to diversify if the need arises.
Producers will learn new marketing techniques for livestock, grain and forage production. Producers will understand ways of controlling their input costs more effectively. Producers will learn new educational tools that they can use to increase efficiency and effectiveness on their agricultural enterprise.
Initial Outcome: Increases awareness of new production methods and techniques
Indicator: education of production methods and techniques
Method: written and online program evaluation
Timeline: Spring 2021, Fall 2021
Intermediate Outcome: Improvement in management and production methods
Indicator: Adoption of practices learned in Extension Programs
Method: Survey of Extension Programs, on-site visits, new producers showing increased profits and value, producers showing change in methods learned from programs involved in.
Timeline: Fall 2021
Long-term Outcome: Increased Economic Vitality of Agriculture Enterprises
Indicator: Economic conditions of farmers become more viable
Method: mailed survey, online survey, and e-mail survey, on-site visits, client adoption of practices
Timeline: Fall 2022
Audience: farmers
Project or Activity: Livestock Marketing
Content or Curriculum: CPH-45 program, Yellow-Tag program, Retained Ownership Program, KY Proud, KY Beef IRM, Beef PVAP program
Inputs: UK Specialists, UK Beef Publications, county agents, beef farmers, Cooperative Extension Services, local livestock markets, Kentucky Department of Agriculture
Date: Spring-Winter 2021
Audience: farmers
Project or Activity: Beef and Forage Production Education
Content or Curriculum: Publications and videos on forages and beef production, project demonstrations on crabgrass and summer annuals
Inputs: UK publications, UK videos, Specialists, social media outlets
Date: Winter 200-2021
Audience: beef farmers
Project or Activity: Beef and Forage Field Days
Content or Curriculum: Demonstration plot, UK publications and presentations on beef marketing and forage use
Inputs: UK specialists, Local Farmer, Kentucky Beef Network, Agents, Publications, Beef IRM Committee, local farm stores, industry representatives
Date: Summer 2021, Fall 2021, summer 2022
Audience: commodity farmers
Project or Activity: Variety Plots and demonstrations for crops, forages, and vegetables
Content or Curriculum: County variety plots for Corn, soybeans, summer and winter forages, and vegetables
Inputs: UK Specialists, Local seed reps, Local farmers, UK publications
Date: Summer 2020, 2021, 2022
Audience: Early career farmers
Project or Activity: Farm Financial Management
Content or Curriculum: UK curriculum for Managing for Today and Tomorrow
Inputs: UK, Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Kentucky Ag Development Fund, Agents, local businesses
Date: Summer 2021
Audience: Women in Agriculture and Agribusiness
Project or Activity: Farm Management Basics for Women
Content or Curriculum: financial management and general agribusiness education
Inputs: UK, Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Kentucky Ag Development Fund, Agents, local businesses, Annie's Project curriculum, Kentucky Women in Agriculture programming
Date: Fall- Winter 2021
Audience: Grain Producers
Project or Activity: Grain Marketing Education
Content or Curriculum: Information on grain marketing
Inputs: UK publications, UK specialists, local marketing groups, producers
Date: Summer 2021
Audience: Young Farmers
Project or Activity: Young Farmer Leadership Program
Content or Curriculum: FarmStart curriculum, UK specialists, local agribusinesses, local farmers, UK Extension agents, commodity organizations
Date: Meet Quarterly: Fall 2020, Winter 2020, Spring 2021, Summer 2021
Audience: Facebook and Social Media Users/General Public
Project or Activity: Social media posts regarding agriculture marketing and management techniques
Content or Curriculum: various research-based resources
Inputs: UK Specialist, paid Extension Staff, social media outlets
Date: Monthly 2020, 2021
Author: Whitney Carman
Major Program: Forages
Forages play an integral part of the rural agriculture economy in Grayson County. Hay production specifically makes up for 35,300 acres of production, ranking 24th in the state. On average, Grayson County produces 100,000 tons of hay each year. Hay production is important for the area due to the amount of livestock, large and small, that utilize it. Therefore, forage quality is a very important factor that the Agriculture agents in the area get questions about.Working closely with Breckinridge c
Author: Whitney Carman
Major Program: Farm Management, Economics and Policy
Cooperative Extension Agents are continuously looking for ideas to help reach new audiences to educate and communicate. Agriculture and Natural Resources Agents Matt Adams (Hardin), Whitney Carman (Grayson) and Daniel Carpenter (LaRue) specifically were looking for ways to reach the young farmer population, a group that can be difficult to reach in the current educational methods. One way that the agents looked into is podcasting. Podcasting uses the internet to make recordings of broadcasts ava
Author: Whitney Carman
Major Program: Farm Management, Economics and Policy
Fencing projects are an investment that many farmers do not take lightly. 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.Due to the success of the Lincoln Trail Fencing School Grayson County hosted in 2019, there was still a large interest in a 2020 program, however due to COVID-19, there was no ability to host one safely. By 2021, restrictions eased, and the n
