Extension
It Starts With Us
Strengthening Agriculture Production, Management, and Marketing Skills
Strengthening Agriculture Production and Economy
Traci Missun, Kelly Woods
Beef
Local Food Systems
Farm Management
Ag Marketing
Farms make up one-half of Oldham County. Farms here include a wide variety of enterprises, including grain crops, livestock, horses, hay and pasture, nurseries, greenhouses, poultry, fish and shellfish. With growth of Farmers Markets and Community Supported Agriculture locations, there has also been growth in vegetable, sheep and poultry production over the last 10 years, according to the 2012 Ag Census.
The Oldham County Extension Council and Ag Advisory Councils reviewed county needs and identified Agriculture Production, Business Management and Marketing as top priorities in educational programming. These skills are necessary for producers to be financially viable individually, and also to support the county's economy as a whole. Production programs also meet the needs of many residents who desire to produce their own food.
Participants will experience long-term viability in farming.
Participants will reduce expenses and/or increase profits of farm operations.
Youth will pursue a career in a horse related program or study.
Participants will implement recommended production practices to successfully produce food and agriculture products.
Participants will write farm business plans, keep and analyze records, and use these to make sound business decisions.
Participants will use information about local market opportunities to sell products.
Youth apply a practice or technique discovered during their horse educational sessions.
Participants will indicate understanding of research-based production practices.
Participants will recognize the importance of farm business plans and record-keeping.
Participants will have increased awareness of new marketing opportunities.
Youth will build equine knowledge and complete six hours of horse educational sessions.
Long-term Outcome: Participants will experience long-term viability in farming. Participants will reduce expenses and/or increase profits of farm operations.
Indicator: Number of producers indicating reduced expenses and/or increase in profits.
Method: Producer Survey
Timeline: May 2018
Long-term Outcome: Youth will pursue a career in a horse related program or study.
Indicator: Number of youth who set a goal and accomplished it.
Method: Youth survey
Timeline: August 2017
Intermediate Outcome: Participants will implement recommended production practices to successfully produce food and agriculture products. Participants will write farm business plans, keep and analyze records, and use these to make sound business decisions. Participants will use information about local market opportunities to sell products.
Indicator: Number of producers who create farm business plans, implement record keeping, identify new markets, and implement changes in production practices.
Method: Producer Survey
Timeline: May 2018
Intermediate Outcome: Youth demonstrate a skill or technique discovered during a horse educational session.
Indicator: Youth demonstrate a riding skills or technique mastered.
Method: Youth survey
Timeline: August 2017
Initial Outcome: Participants will indicate understanding of research-based production practices. Participants will recognize the importance of farm business plans and record-keeping.Participants will have increased awareness of new marketing opportunities.
Indicator: Producers indicate new knowledge in farm business and production practices.
Method: Completion of educational classes; producer survey
Timeline: 2017 - 2018; surveys May 2018
Initial Outcome: Youth build equine knowledge and complete six hours of horse educational sessions.
Indicator: Youth complete six hours.
Method: Horse Education Hours Logged
Timeline: All year
Audience: 4-H Members age 9 to 18
Project or Activity: Horse educational session
Content or Curriculum: Content identified by 4-H Club
Inputs: CES Staff, Participant fees
Date: Completed April 2018
Audience: Beef Producers
Project or Activity: Master Cattleman
Content or Curriculum: UK Extension Beef Production Curriculum
Inputs: UK Extension Specialists, Local Agriculture Agents
Date: May - September 2017
Audience: Farmers
Project or Activity: Recordkeeping Class
Content or Curriculum: Extension materials; KY Farm Business Analysis program materials
Inputs: Agriculture Agent, KY Farm Business Analysis program representative
Date: Fall 2017
Audience: Farmers
Project or Activity: Writing a Farm Business Plan class
Content or Curriculum: KY Center for Agricultural & Rural Development materials
Inputs: Agriculture Agent, KCARD representative
Date: Completed in Fall 2016
Audience: Farmers
Project or Activity: Marketing/Local Market Opportunities classes and notification to producers
Content or Curriculum: UK/KSU Extension materials; Louisville Farm to Table resources
Inputs: Agriculture Agent, UK/KSU Specialists, Louisville Farm to Table Director
Date: Ongoing; 2017-2018
Audience: Farmers/Residents
Project or Activity: Vegetable Gardening Workshop
Content or Curriculum: UK Extension materials
Inputs: Agriculture Agent, Horticulture Assistant, possibly Extension Specialists
Date: January 2018
Audience: Farmers/Residents/Potential Buyers
Project or Activity: Create web listing of Oldham County Farms offering products for sale (voluntary participation)
Content or Curriculum: Gather information from Oldham County farmers
Inputs: Agriculture Agent, Horticulture Assistant, Staff Assistant, Ag Council
Date: 2017 - 2018
Audience: Cattle Producers
Project or Activity: Beef Quality Assurance Certification/Cattle Handling and Care Certification
Content or curriculum: UK Extension materials and videos
Inputs: Agriculture Agent
Date: Multiple sessions, November - December 2017
Audience: Small Poultry Flock Producers
Project or Activity: Chickens 101
Content or curriculum: UK Extension materials
Inputs: Agriculture Agent, Local Producer
Date: March 2018
Audience: Farmers
Project or Activity: Private Pesticide Applicator Training/Certification
Content or curriculum: UK Extension materials
Inputs: Agriculture Agent
Date: Multiple sessions, December 2017 - January 2018
Audience: Farmers
Project or Activity: Good Agricultural Practices for Vegetable/Fruit Production
Content or curriculum: UK Extension materials
Inputs: Agriculture Agent, Horticulture Assistant
Date: February 2017
Author: Traci Johnson
Major Program: Beef
Educational programs that strengthen agriculture production skills are a continued priority identified by the Oldham County Extension and Agriculture Councils. In Oldham County, pasture makes up one-third of available farmland and provides grazing for livestock. Livestock are important to Oldham County’s economy, with cattle alone representing over 2.4 million dollars in sales in 2012, according to the last Census of Agriculture. Cattle numbers have remained steady since
Author: Traci Johnson
Major Program: Poultry
Educational programs that strengthen agriculture production skills are a continued priority identified by the Oldham County Extension Council and Agriculture Council. In Oldham County, sourcing and purchasing local foods is a continuing trend. This has also spurred a growing number of people to seek information about raising their own food, and keeping poultry flocks is a very popular enterprise. Oldham County poultry and egg sales have continued to increase over the last two d
Author: Kelly Woods
Major Program: Agriculture 4-H Core Curriculum
In Oldham County, sourcing and purchasing local foods is a continuing trend. This has also spurred a growing number of people to seek information about raising their own food, and keeping poultry flocks is a very popular. Keeping these flocks has grown into a family affair, with both youth and adults involved in the care. The Oldham County Agriculture and 4-H Agents and the Shelby County Horticulture Assistant planned a two-part ‘Chickens 101’ program to meet the gro
Author: Traci Johnson
Major Program: Wildlife Habitat and Damage Management Education
Educational programs that strengthen agriculture production skills are a continued priority identified by the Oldham County Extension and Agriculture Councils. A hindrance to producing food in Oldham County is damage caused by nuisance wildlife. This damage ranges from deer feeding on gardens and crops to black vultures feeding on newborn livestock.Challenges include heavy deer population – with neighborhoods being close together in some parts of the county, hunting is not always
