Author: Steven Musen
Major Program: Farm Management, Economics and Policy
The Kentucky Ag. Development Fund,s County Ag. Investment Program (CAIP) cost-share program has been used to assist in the restructuring of Jessamine County Agriculture, helping to alleviate financial challenges caused by the loss of tobacco income and diversify the agriculture production base.The nine members of the Jessamine County Agriculture Development Board, in cooperation with the Jessamine County Extension ANR Agent, have worked hard to maximize the use of the KADF cost-share funds to ac
Author: Whitney Carman
The local Breckinridge, Grayson and Hancock County areas have noticed an increase in the number of women taking active roles in the agriculture enterprises recently. Based on US Census of Ag Data, 35% of the primary farm owners in this area are women. This is due to many factors: succession, new residents interested in farming, better resources for women, and general interests, to name a few. This area of Kentucky is also expanding in diverse enterprises ranging from vegetables, grain, ca
Author: Victor Williams
According to the 2022 Census of Agriculture, the number of farms in Laurel County is rapidly decreasing. Between the 2012 and 2017 Census reports, there was a 5% decrease. The most recent data shows an additional decrease of 9%. Approximately 98% of the operations are family farms; however, many farm owners are unaware of the proper planning needed to protect the farm as it is passed down through generations.Even farm owners who have prepared a Last Will and Testament may not be awar
Author: Clinton Hardy
Extension agents in Daviess and Henderson County graduated 25 Daviess and Henderson County women farmers and farm spouses from a 15 instructional hour Annies Project Farm Management Training Program for Women in March of this year. Participants in this program received instructional information related to farm management pertaining to human resources, communication, and organizational leadership. Knowledge of crop insurance policy options, personal property and business liability ins
Author: Robert Kirby
Seeing a need for more education for cattle farmers in the tri-state region agents from Harlan, Bell and Knox Counties Kentucky Lee, Wise and Scott Counties Virginia and Claiborne and Hancock Counties Tennessee on March 23, 2024 held the sixth annual Cumberland Gap Beef Cattle Conference. The Goal was to address the needs and update cattle farmers on renovating pastures, herbicide applications, humane euthanasia, weed control, forage nutrition, forage fertility. Of those in attendance
Author: Gary Hamilton
Forages, Beef Cattle and Grain Crops are the staple crops of the Gateway Area farm economy. Over the past 14 years the ANR agents in Bath, Menifee and Montgomery County’s have gathered producer input, planned and implemented a Regional Agricultural Commodity Night Program to focus on some current issues facing farmers. This year 35 producers attended and gained knowledge from information presented by specialist from the University of Kentucky and the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Department.
Author: Roger "Darrell" Simpson
The problem: New and tenured ANR agents are being asked to provide input on agricultural land rental rate surveyThe educational program response: This Agent was asked to chair a committee of new and tenured agents regarding the question of whether or not to conduct an agricultural land rental rate survey.The participants/target audience: New and tenured agents, landowners and tenantsOther partners (if applicable) Seven other ANR Agents with varying years of experience from across the
Author: April Wilhoit
Kentucky is the largest cattle producing state east of the Mississippi River. A lot of great cattle are being grown and sold in the markets around the commonwealth however some of are lacking in feed and nutrition. Additionally, knowing and understanding what the cattle markets are looking for is also an important management tool for farmers. The Buffalo Trace County Area has hosted the Cattle Grading/Body Condition program for many years. 2024 was the first year that it
Author: Matthew Chadwick
The problem and planned program to respondFarmers of all disciplines recognize the need to plan for the transition of the farm to the next generation. However even with the best plan on paper, actually attracting the next generation to stay or come back to the family farm can be challenging at times. The planning committee looked to address those issues by discussing topics such as estate planning, on farm diversification of crops and diversification of marketing for existing crops, as well as g
Author: Kevin Lyons
In today’s world, media outlets such as podcasts and social media are one of the best ways to reach clientele with educational resources and information. With these media sources you can be creative, flexible, and really accomplish your goals while reaching people that you may not normally reach with traditional marketing methods.With the growing demand for podcasts, agents from Allen, Monroe and Hart counties teamed up to present a new podcast to clientele called “Digging Up Ag Podc
Author: Chris Ammerman
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Americans reported losing $10 billion to fraud in 2023, which is a 14% increase from 2022 and the highest amount ever reported to the FTC. Almost everyone with a telephone number experiences a relentless barrage of attempts aimed at extracting personal information, holding electronic devices for ransom, or tricking individuals into compromising situations to extort money from them.In response to this pressing issue, the Grant County Chamber
Author: Miranda Rudolph
According to the USDA, the average age of U.S. farm producers in 2022 is 58.1 years, and the number of producers aged 65 and older showed a 12% increase, which is consistent with the continued trend of an aging farm population. Along with this comes the unfortunate reality of people inheriting land that has been in their family for generations, or people buying land that had been sold off of generational farms. This is very true for Graves County. Over the last several months, there has been a s
Author: Lyndall Harned
I had a local farmer come up to me before a recent Master Cattleman’s Program and told me his partner said to tell me ‘Thank You’. And I asked what for. He said all the help, information, and guidance I had given him over the past few years since he first contacted me. He said that between the information I had given him, the programs I had gotten him involved in, etc., had helped him greatly improve his farming operation and specifically his profitability.He said specifically
Author: Taylor Graves
There are so many resources available to assist producers in making modifications to their operations. These resources can come in the form of education and financial assistance. But where are these resources available and what steps do producers need to take to get them? These are the questions that the Farm Services night program was able to answer. There are times I will receive phone calls at the office and the producer will need assistance from another entity other than the Extension O
Author: Timothy Estes
Author: Adam Huber
Digging Up Ag PodcastIn today’s world, media outlets such as podcasts and social media are one of the best ways to reach clientele with educational resources and information. With these media sources you can be creative, flexible, and really accomplish your goals while reaching people that you may not normally reach with traditional marketing methods.With the growing demand for podcasts, agents from Allen, Monroe and Hart counties teamed up to present a new podcast to clientele called &ldq
Author: John Tucker
Hickman County has over 47,000 acres of soybeans and 35,000 acres of corn producing over 66 million dollars in sales of grain for the county (2022 Census of Agriculture). Hickman County ag agent collaborated with other local ag agents from Fulton, Carlisle, Graves, McCracken, Calloway, and Marshall Counties as well as three adult ag teachers from WKCTC to provide the annual Winter Ag Conference. This informational meeting was held at Lowry Farms in Pilot Oak, Kentucky. With d
Author: Joseph Ray
To meet the educational needs for producers of certain agricultural commodities, the ANR Agents in Boyle, Garrard, Lincoln, and Mercer counties collaborated to host a series of educational meetings during the winter season. This year the four agents conducted meetings for forage producers, cattle backgrounders, grain crop producers, and tobacco growers. This year the topics included: summer forage options for central Kentucky, beginning rotational grazing, weed management, nutrient managem