Extension
It Starts With Us
To help foster the development of marketing, production, and managment skills within the area.
Develop Marketing, Production, and Managment Skills
Tiffany Bolinger, Kelly Jackson, Matt Futrell, Kaitlyne Metsker, Jeremiah Johnson, Mary Anne Garnett
4-H Volunteer Programming
Farmer's Markets
Agritourism Planning
Ag Marketing
Kentucky is home to 85,500 farms, tied with Oklahoma as the 4th ranking state in the number of farms (National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2012). The average farm size in Kentucky is 164 acres, compared to the national average of 421 (National Agricultural Statistics Service, 2012). Between 2007 and 2012, the Bluegrass State had a 6.7% decrease in the number of acres of farmland, which is the greatest percentage decrease any state in the country (Census of Agriculture, 2012). A farm is defined by the United States government as “any place that produced and sold, or normally would produce and sell, $1,000 or more of agricultural products during the census year.” While Kentucky’s population is increasing, the number of people living on farms is decreasing. Therefore, the need exists to educate people about the impact that it makes on their daily lives, as well as the importance of agriculture to the commonwealth. The top agricultural products produced on Kentucky farms are changing. In 2012, the Top 10 agriculture products in Kentucky were: Broilers, Corn, Horses & Mules, Soybeans, Cattle & Calves, Tobacco, Dairy Products & Milk, Wheat, Hay and Chicken Eggs (United States Department of Agriculture – Kentucky, 2012).
Sales at the Fairview Produce Auction reached nearly $2 million in 2011 on fresh fruits and vegetables alone, with an estimated retail value of over $4 million. But these numbers represent less than 1% of the total produce consumed by Kentuckians in 2010. Therefore it is important that educational efforts focus on improving the efficiency of production while expanding production with new growers and new commodities. Because of the level of produce being sold from Christian County, there is also a need to educate growers and vendors on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) during production and sampling in order to reduce risks associated with pathogen contamination of produce. There is also a need to start new markets and strengthen existing markets.
* Youth will engage in entrepreneurial enterprise
* Youth will gain and maintain employment resulting from life skill development through 4-H
* Youth will be advocates for agriculture and healthy and sustainable food systems
* Larger farmers market with more growers, vendors, and consumers
* Larger volumes of consistent, high quality produce
* Increased economic capacity for farmers
* Economic evaluation confirms that agritourism contributes substantially to the economic viability of farms and rural communities
* Profitability increased as demonstrated by increased sales, effective marketing, and consumer access
* Producers will discover and maintain direct to consumer marketing options
* Youth will practice and apply skills and knowledge in the production of food and fiber in the areas of plant sciences, horticulture and animal sciences
* Youth will adopt and practice skills that contribute to employability
* Youth can explain the role of agriculture in daily life to others
* Youth will set a goal and accomplish it
* Youth can influence the purchase of Kentucky Proud products
* Youth can practice entrepreneurship skills related to agriculture and food systems
* Increased number of farmer market vendors
* Producer growing and marketing skills will increase
* Increase use of media technology to promote farmers markets and fresh produce consumption
* Implement certification workshops for vendors
* Demonstrate development and use of specific management practices and marketing tools
* Youth will gain knowledge and skills in the production of food and fiber in the areas of plant sciences, horticulture and animal sciences
* Youth will gain an understanding of healthy and sustainable food systems
* Youth will develop valuable life-skills, including decision-making, communications, record-keeping, leadership and service
* Increase post harvest and food handling knowledge
* Increase knowledge of produce and ornamental production and marketing
* Document current impacts of existing markets
Initial Outcome: Youth will gain knowledge and skills in the production of food and fiber in the areas of plant sciences, horticulture and animal sciences.
Indicator: The number of youth who demonstrate a skill that was learned and improved by participating in a 4-H/ANR project, program, event or activity.
Method: Club meetings, Programs, Events ,and Activities
Timeline: July 2019-July 2020
Initial Outcome: Adopt post harvest and food handling knowledge.
Indicator: Participants will adopt state GAP (PBPT) standards for food/crop production and handling regulations when offering samples.
Method: Retrospective survey following GAP (PBPT) training
Timeline: Spring 2020
Initial Outcome: Increase knowledge of produce, and ornamental production and marketing.
Indicator: 50% of participants will indicate knowledge increase.
Method: Retrospective survey following production meetings
Timeline: December, January, April, June
Intermediate Outcome: Evaluate the number of vendors who sell at local farmers markets and the wholesale auction, as well as direct to consumer markets.
Indicator: The number of vendors will increase.
Method: Observation
Timeline: June 2020
Audience: Youth
Project or Activity: Ag, Livestock, Horse Clubs
Content or Curriculum: Beef, Sheep, Swine Selection Evaluation, Horse Achievement
Inputs: Agents, Specialist, Travel
Date: July 2019 - July 2020
Audience: Christian County First Graders
Project or Activity: Farm Days
Content or Curriculum: Kentucky Farm 2 School
Inputs: Agents,Specialist, Farm & Demonstration Materials
Date: Spring 2020
Audience: Producers and consumers
Project or Activity: Food Safety and Certification for Sampling
Content or Curriculum: GAP (PBPT) Training
Inputs: Extension Horticulture and Agriculture Natural Resources Agents; Extension Specialists; Kentucky Department of Agriculture; Kentucky Cabinet for Health; Downtown Renaissance; Funding (County Funds, State, Local Funds); UK publications
Date: Jan-March 2020
Audience: Farmers Market Growers, Ag producers
Project or Activity: Fruit, Vegetable, and Ornamental Production classes, Woodland Owner's short course, Grain/Tobacco Production meetings, Private applicator trainings, Commodity Group Updates.
Content or Curriculum: Supplied by agents and specialists
Inputs: Extension Horticulture and Agriculture Natural Resources Agents; Extension Specialists (i.e., John Strang, Rachal Rudolph, Emily Pfeufer, Rick Bessin, Andy Bailey, Chad Lee, Ray Smith, Tim Woods, etc); Kentucky Department of Agriculture; Funding (County Funds, State, Local Funds); Fairview Education Committee; Fairview Produce Auction; UK publications
Date: January, May, June 2020
Author: Austin Wright
Major Program: KSU Small Farm Program
TITLE: CANNAVAL Conference & Virgin Island Small Farms VisitThe Area: The current population of the United States Virgin Islands as of Thursday, August 1, 2019. The United States Virgin Islands population is equivalent to 0% of the total world population. The United States Virgin Islands ranks 199 in the list of countries population. The total land area is 135 square miles. 97.5% of the population is urban (102,326) in 2019 The median age in the United States Virgin Islands is 41.4
Author: Matthew Futrell
Major Program: Ag Policy
Foreign Dignitaries TourEvery year agriculture becomes more and more a global market. As these markets expand it is more important than ever to explore new opportunities and stay in tune with global demand. On September 18th the Christian County Cooperative Extension Service was honored to host the Kentucky Department of Agriculture Foreign Dignitaries tour. The tour consisted of 32 participants from 23 different countries around the world. These parti
Author: Matthew Futrell
Major Program: Beef
Management Details Improve Cow Calf ProfitabilityPaying attention to details helps to improve the profitability of any business. Dr. Kenneth Burdine, Dr. Greg Halich, and Jonathan Shepherd from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture Food and Environment, Agricultural Economics Department developed a program titled Cow Calf Profitability. They worked with Extension Agents for Agriculture and Natural Resources across the state to deliver the program in five locations across the commonwe
Author: Mary Anne Garnett
Major Program: 4-H Agriculture Core Curriculum AND Natural Resources
Since 1985, the Christian County 4-H has hosted Farm Day for the 1st grade students of Christian County. This field trip has taught students where their food comes by visiting a local farm, interacting with farm animals, and participating in other fun agriculture activities. Sadly, due to COVID-19 this year’s event was unable to take place. In order to still teach students about agriculture, the Virtual 4-H Farm Day video series were created. Every day during the week of May 4-8, 202
Author: Matthew Futrell
Major Program: Forages
Foraging for SuccessOne of the challenges beef cattle producers face is deciding if they are raising cattle or forages. On October 3, 2019 the Christian County Cooperative Extension Service hosted the Heart of America Grazing Conference. The grazing conference was a collaboration between the Kentucky Forage and Grasslands Council (KFGC), university specialist, and the local extension service. The mission of the conference was to encourage producers to not think of themselves a
Author: Kelly Jackson
Major Program: Commercial Horticulture
Kentucky has the fastest-growing Amish population in the U.S. According to the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, the population of Kentucky Amish grew by 5,595 people since 2010 and is currently 8th in population with approximately 13,347 Amish. Christian County and neighboring Todd County are two of the three most populated counties in Kentucky. Many Amish in these two counties, grow and sell vegetables and depend on these sales for their livelihood. Due to limited access to phon
