Author: Tyrone Atkinson
Major Program: Family Development General
The CYFAR Uplift Project Year 2 was met with challenges and successes. The team consists of Dr. Kerri Ashurst, Dr. Ken Jones, Dr. Allison Young, Chandra DeRamus, Carla Jordan, Maria Harris and Tyrone Atkinson, which all are Kentucky Extension employees. The purpose of this grant is to provide a comprehensive life skills development program for high-risk youth and strengths-based programming for their families. 2020 presented many challenges for the project as Covid-19 shut down many opport
Author: Brooke Hogancamp
Major Program: Substance Use Prevention and Recovery General
Substance Use Disorder is a serious danger for youth today. Truth and Consequences is a time honored tradition in Carlisle County Schools. Carlisle County Middle School and the Carlisle County Extension Office partner annually to provide 8th grade students with a complex interactive program focused on the dangers associated with drug and alcolhol use. With so many restrictions in place due to COVID guidelines, access to the school was an impossibility, but Carlisle County FRYSC
The Kentucky Military Teen Adventure Camp Grant was able to host another year of summer camp for Service Member Parents and Teens in spite of having to reschedule to 2021 because of Covid-19. Kerri Ashurst and Tyrone Atkinson served as the PI's for the grant and were able to conduct 2 camps (in June 2021) at the Red River Gorge for 63 participants from various states. Families were so appreciative of the camp and they were excited to have the experience together. "Thank you
Author: Kristy Porter
Major Program: Community Leadership Development
Even at nine years old, Zach Chaney knew he had talent and wanted to learn to use it. Growing up in a rural area of Pike County, access to the arts was not always readily available. He remembers walking through the doors of Artists Collaborative Theatre (ACT) that first day and falling in love with theatre. His first play was The Wizard of Oz. During the next nine years, he would take part in acting, tech work, co-directing, and stage-managing productions at ACT. Zach said he has lost coun
Author: Chad Niman
Major Program: Forest Education: Health, Management, and Utilization
In 2020, 3 individual remote wood products programs were held highlighting and celebrating “Forest Products and Stewardship Week”, as part of the campus “Sustainability Month” (October) and “National Forest Products Week” (celebrated nationally in US since 1960). Renee Williams created a Promotional Flyer for use in the Forest Products Awareness Campaign. Forest products play such an important role in our everyday lives as well as the management of our forests
Author: Bernita Cheirs
Major Program: Natural Resources
Due to the Covid-19 related restrictions, Extension agents had to be creative in designing programs for the spring of 2021. The pandemic has brought many new challenges to families in Fulton County. However, one of the more positive outcomes has been a revival of home gardening and importance of family togetherness. The Fulton County Cooperative Extension Service Agents for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Family and Consumer Science, 4-H and Youth Development all partnered together to d
Author: William Bailey
Major Program: Tobacco
Although burley and dark tobacco are the primary tobacco types grown in Kentucky, a new type of tobacco called Connecticut Broadleaf began to be produced in Kentucky on a very small scale in 2018 and continues today. This new type of tobacco is specifically suited for production of cigar wrappers, and commands a very high price per pound if cigar wrapper grades are produced. This new type of tobacco had been grown in Connecticut and Massachusetts, but not in Kentucky prior to 2018, a
Author: Luciana Hockersmith
Major Program: Build Engaged and Empowered Communities – General
Given the pandemic circumstances that prevented Extension Offices from holding in-person meetings, the Mercer County Interagency Council had been unable to meet for four months since the Mercer County office hosted the regular monthly meeting. In July, the Extension Agent for Family & Consumer Sciences offered to host the meetings via Zoom. The first virtual meeting was held in August with over 25 participants; subsequent monthly meetings have been facilitated by the FCS Agent an
Author: Kendal Bowman
Major Program: Chemical Management
Pesticides Please We have all heard in the news about the publicity of the misuse of pesticides. The Owen County Ag Agent prides himself in educating his producers on the correct way to handle and apply pesticides. This past spring the agent hosted two sessions, full of producers egar to learn how they can be better stewards of the land. During these sessions the participants learned about proper storage, correct way to handle the chemical, how to read the label, and how to prevent run off.
Major Program: Beef
I spy with my bovine eye Summer brings the warm weather and sunshine. But for many producers across Kentucky, especially Owen County it brings the plague of pinkeye in cattle. In May the Owen County Extension Office partnered with United Producers Inc UPI) of Owenton to begin a brunch and learn series. The Owen County Ag Agent, Kendal Bowman, partnered with the UPI yard manager, Robert Green Jr., to address some timely monthly topics to educate local producers. In May to kick off the monthl
According to 2010 US Census Bureau statistics, the racial makeup of Mercer County is estimated to be 91.9% white, 3.5% black, 2.4% latino, 0.4% asian and 2% or less of american indian or alaskan native , native hawaiian or pacific islander. These numbers indicate that Mercer County, in terms of racial diversity, is recognizably behind the state averages. With limitations on racial diversity, the Mercer County Cooperative Extension Service in collaboration with more than 20 local businesses
Tobacco educational programming has traditionally been a very in-person, face-to-face effort that has involved 20 to 30 in-person grower meetings between January and March every year. With the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2021, these tobacco educational efforts had to be converted to a very non-traditional virtual format. In 2021, Tobacco Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) trainings, required annually by the tobacco industry for all tobacco growers since 2013, were offered in several vir
Author: Paula Tarry
Major Program: Leadership
What Does 4-H Mean to Me?Throughout this 4-H Youth Development Agent’s career, I have ask the question, "What Does 4-H Mean to Me?" to hundreds of 4-H members on applications, interviews, essays or just for conversation. Needless to say, there have been a a wide variety of short, long, detailed and memorable answers. During this past year with all of the difficulties and transitions, we have faced as individuals, families and organization, I thought the answer might be diff
Author: Raul Villanueva
Major Program: Horticulture, Commercial
I was solicited to present in-person however to avoid risk this task was conducted online using zoom. The event was to make aware to the agricultural workers, and palm growers (coconut or oil) about the destructive effect this weevil species can have on the Caribbean. People were receptive and positive comments were obtained during presentation.
Ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) are boring insects that inoculate species specific symbiotic fungi into the sapwood of their hosts. Some fungi are innocuous, but others are pathogenic and can kill plants in a short time. The detection, phenology and identification of the later and its management are the main objectives of this study. This project was funded in 2017 and 2019 but due to the phenology of these pests the start of the projects in each year of the funding lagg
Author: Brittany Osborne
Major Program: Communications and Expressive Arts
In her early teen years, Mandy Moore started singing “The Star Spangled Banner” at various sports events in her Floridian hometown, earning her the nickname “The National Anthem Girl." According to her own personal testament, this is how Moore was discovered and signed a record deal at age 15. Gabrielle Copeland is a 4-H member at the McCracken County Cooperative Extension Service in Paducah, Kentucky. She began singing at the age of 2 and she has never lost her love
Author: Chanda Hall
When the COVID-19 global pandemic forced Kentuckians into quarantine youth and families began spending more time at home, minimizing opportunities for youth to engage in typical extracurricular activities. Due to this situation the Jefferson County 4-H Program began holding 4-H virtual programs on social media platforms. The goal of the 4-H virtual programs were to maintain ways for youth and families to engage with 4-H projects, events and activities while learning new life skills through a tru
Author: Christan Miracle
Major Program: Dairy
21st Century is a program that many public schools offer to school age youth to participate in as an after school activity. During the relationship that the Marion Co. Extension Office has built with the Marion Co. Public School Systems’ 21st Century Program, we as an office have been able to be a part of the programs summer camps. Each year the 21st Century Coordinator will host a camp for students to attend with many different activities to take part in during a week to two week day camp
