Clay County CES Program Indicators and Success StoriesJul 1, 2021 - Jun 30, 2022





1122 - Forest Education: Health, Management, and Utilization
1122.13) 4500

Number of acres owned or managed by forest health, management and utilization program participants

1122.12) 0

Number of dollars saved/earned by implementing forest health, management and utilization practices  

1122.11) 25

Number of businesses impacted by forest health, management and utilizations programs (note: Master Loggers typically represent a small business)  

1122.1) 60

Number of people who increased knowledge on forest health, management and/or utilization (includes forest health program, urban tree health programs, forestry webinar series, Master Loggers program, Woodland Owner Short course, Non-timber products[i.e. mushrooms, Christmas trees, maple syrup], naturalist programs, county based forestry program, small scale logging forest industry training, log and lumber grading trainings, and other "tree-centric" programs)  

1122.2) 8

Number of individuals who implemented one or more forest health, management and/or utilization practices



Success Stories

Formation of new Woodland Owner Association

Author: Willie Bowling

Major Program: Forest Education: Health, Management, and Utilization

Kentucky has many natural resources, but our forests present one of our greatest opportunities. For instance, our forests provide both economic opportunity (both timber and non-timber forest products) as well as ecosystem services (wildlife habitat, clean water, carbon sequestration, etc.). The forest resource is particularly important to Clay County citizens, because approximately 85% of the county land base is covered by forest. Despite this opportunity, many Kentucky landowners – Clay C

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Mushroom Cultivation Workshops

Author: Willie Bowling

Major Program: Forest Education: Health, Management, and Utilization

There’s a lot to be said for converting low-value materials into high-value products. This is commonly known as “upcycling.” In spring 2022 a group of Clay County producers met with University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension to learn how to transform cull trees into gourmet-quality food.  Of course, the trees themselves are not a human food resource, but by inoculating the trees with edible mushroom spawn growers can reliably harvest high-quality mushrooms from small dia

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Bringing a Commercial Walnut Operation to Clay County

Author: Willie Bowling

Major Program: Forest Education: Health, Management, and Utilization

In summer 2021, a Clay County producer approached Clay County Cooperative Extension Service (Clay CES) to seek assistance in opening a hulling station for Hammons Black Walnuts. Hammons Black Walnuts is the world’s largest purchaser of black walnuts; they secure most of their annual crop by purchasing wild-harvested black walnuts from across the eastern United States. Under this model, Hammons partners with independent contractors who aggregate the nuts from local harvesters.Clay CES staff

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