Author: Carol Hinton
Major Program: Farm Management, Economics and Policy
New ways to teach old information.When the entire state was shut down in March of 2020 residents were in pandemic mode when it came to their daily grocery needs. I immediately began seeing Facebook posts and receiving texts on how to grow a garden, specifically, many people said, call the Breckinridge County Extension Office for information. Families were at home needing a positive project to engage the entire family in to keep their minds off the situation we were all in at the same time
Author: Jason Vaughn
The Kentucky Agriculture Development Fund provide monies to implement the County Ag Investments Program. The program runs through county councils and provides money directly to farmers allowing for investments in key farming operations. In Powell County, farmers must complete a qualified educational component to receive the cost shared funds. Traditionally, applicants would attend one of a couple educational classes offered at the extension office. Covid 19 prevented the
Author: Samantha Anderson
With a recent nationwide renewed interest in local food production, information on homesteading practices have become a common request for many County Extension Service offices. Seeing a need for relevant, research-based information to be available to the public, area agents for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Caldwell, Calloway, Crittenden, Livingston, Marshall, McCracken and Trigg Counties, partnered to host the Small Diversified Farm series. Through an interest survey, monthly educa
Author: Phillip Long
New farm business development in Jefferson County has slowed with regard to the recent pandemic, and a limited amount of support, created by an uncertain socio-economic-political environment. However, the development of Equine Therapy farms has continued to grow, serving the increased needs of Jefferson County, with the greatest number of farms being located in Eastern Jefferson County. Equine Therapy has created a need for safe and healthy indoor, and outdoor environments, for clients and
Author: Sarah Fannin
The COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented changes and challenges to our world and local community. The outbreak quickly reminded people that Agriculture is essential business and that Extension was needed to continue to provide crucial services, diagnoses and advice during this time, while keeping participants and staff safe. In spite of the challenges, Morgan County ANR retooled traditional delivery methods and adopted new technology to meet needs of farmers and forestry professio
Author: Levi Berg
The COVID-19 pandemic on most of 2020-2021 created unique situations which needed addressed especially with regards to agricultural producers. In spring of 2020 until the spring of 2021, Extension Offices were open only to one on one appointments, and large gatherings were not available to ensure safety of staff and clients. The lack of large educational meetings caused many issues for agricultural producers, but a large issue for producers was obtaining the necessary education to either sale ag
Author: Emily Spencer
Led by Lilian Brislen and Tim Woods, and assisted by Emily Spencer and Jairus Rossi, the University of Kentucky led a national team of university partners, community practitioners, and USDA AMS representatives in a project uncovering and addressing the needs of local food systems stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Efforts by the University of Kentucky resulted in the following:Detailed Impact Assessments from August 2020 and May 2021 from 17 different local food systems stakeholders, fro
With the promise of in-person markets being open in Summer of 2020, many producers did not have website set up. Even fewer had an online store. However, when many markets did not open up in Summer 2020, many farms and businesses were left with few options. With assistance from the University of Kentucky Center for Crop Diversification, Emily Spencer assisted several producers in getting their online stores up and running in order to keep their business open during the COVID-19 pandemic. Customer
Author: Joanna Coles
The Warren County Extension Service has worked with the Farm and Home Show for 20+ years as a platform for other Extension Agents and Specialists to share research-based information from the University of Kentucky. This educational, 5-minute show shares seasonal topics related to the farm and the home and is broadcast on the WBKO TV Station to residents across the South Central Kentucky viewing area.As of July 1, 2020, Warren County Extension Agents have produced, edited, and shared 260 educatio
Led by Brett Wolff and assisted by Emily Spencer and Savannah Columbia, the Center for Crop Diversification put on a webinar series in the Fall of 2020, addressing some of the most-asked questions from growers in Kentucky. The Webinar Series lasted 5 weeks and included expert voices from the Kentucky Horticulture Council, the Community Farm Alliance, UK Agricultural Economics, and the Kentucky Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (KCARD). The series had attendees from all over the state
Over the 10 years that MarketReady has been offered to producers in Kentucky, it has always been an in-person, face-to-face event. In 2020, the program was unable to be held because of COVID-19 precautions. In 2021, Emily Spencer, Savannah Columbia, and Tim Woods adapted the MArket Ready curriculum to better fit in an online delivery format.The typical MarketReady training lasts a full day- around 6 hours. To adapt the training for online, the program was broken up into a Core Training- highligh
Author: Vicki Shadrick
The University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service provides practical research-based education to help people, businesses, and communities solve problems, develop skills, and build a better future. Traditionally, education programs are offered in the form of a field day, classroom or day camp to reach more clientele in one setting. These programs can be a series of events that take place over a few weeks or they can be a one-day event. Often times, one of the most benefic
Author: Kevin Lyons
There are many agricultural producers in Monroe County that are required to obtain various certifications or attend trainings in order to effectively manage their enterprises. The UK Cooperative Extension Service Agents assist local producers by providing the necessary trainings and educational programs. The Monroe Co. Ag & Natural Resources Agent was able to provide in-person assistance during the Covid-19 pandemic.Approximately 280 individuals participated in the County Agriculture Investm
Author: Robert Kirby
Since Covid19 restrictions were in place for most of the 2020-21 year, meeting the needs for the county was difficult and challenging to say the least. Soil samples and office visits were received and conducted in the parking lot while following the ever changing CDC guide lines. Farm visits were crucial during these times for educational opportunities and production demonstrations. Because of the efforts of the Knox County Extension Service, High Tunnels were set up and began production,
Author: Savannah Columbia
In the spring of 2020, we distributed a survey about farmer’s markets and local food consumption to the community members of Campbell County, KY. We were able to take these survey results and put them into a reflection about how the community members felt about their local farmer’s markets. We found ways for the farmer’s markets to improve and better serve their community. We presented the findings to a group of 14 individuals; however, this project is on-going. Our group submi
This Spring, we turned our day-long, in-person MarketReady Producer Training into a virtual learning experience. The virtual learning experience was well-received. We had 49 producers participate in our virtual training and 48 producers participate in the follow-up advanced topic sessions. The MarketReady Producer Training educates producers interested in retail, grocery, farm to school, wholesale, etc. sales. The advanced topic follow-up sessions serve as deeper dives into some of the material
Author: Daniel Carpenter
Peer groups have been helpful for CEO’s, marketing managers, entrepreneurs, human resources, operations managers, etc. in both big and small business for years. The modern day farm manager encompasses all of these jobs and it can be a helpful tool to help farm owners and operators to perform efficiently by sharing information and experiences with each other. It is also beneficial from a mental and social health perspective for the peer group to discuss problems and issues within their oper
Social media represents a huge potential for outreach for the Cooperative Extension Service. Facebook has over 2.85 billion active users, YouTube has 2 billion active users and Instagram has 1.074 billion users. Since July of 2016, the Warren County Agriculture’s social media presence has increased its scope and interaction. The platforms focus on timely agriculture and horticulture educational information, promotion of events, agriculture awareness campaigns, and recognition
