Success Stories - Kentucky Extension Reporting System

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Craig Wood, Ph.D
Acting Associate Dean & Director
UK Cooperative Extension Service

S-107 Ag. Science Center North Lexington, KY 40546-0091

+1 (859) 257-4302

craig.wood@uky.edu

Cooperative Extension Service

Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

Impacts

Craig Wood, Ph.D
Acting Associate Dean & Director
UK Cooperative Extension Service

S-107 Ag. Science Center North Lexington, KY 40546-0091

+1 (859) 257-4302

craig.wood@uky.edu

Fiscal Year: 2025

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2025

Jul 1, 2024 - Jun 30, 2025

Success StoriesKentucky Extension Reporting System

Enhancing Grain Production Through Multi-County Collaboration

Author: Corinne Belton

Major Program: Grains

Grain production remains a critical component of the agricultural economy in Kentucky, particularly in Shelby County. According to the 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture:Corn for Grain: 16,987 acres harvestedSoybeans for Beans: 15,670 acres harvestedWheat for Grain: 7,521 acres harvestedAs producers face increasing pressure from pests, diseases, weather volatility, and market shifts, there is a growing need for accessible, research-based production strategies.To address these needs, a multi-county

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Winter Grain Conference-River County

Author: Chuck Flowers

Major Program: Grains

Winter Grain Conference-River County

On average, 76% of all land in the Four River Counties is dedicated to crop production. Three of the four counties—Ballard, Carlisle, and Fulton—generate over $33 million annually in crop sales, with Carlisle County alone exceeding $74 million. Across all four counties, it's essential for farm operators to stay informed about input costs, annual market trends, and emerging crop issues. This year’s program was designed to address those needs by providing timely and relevant

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Canola-Winter Ag Conference-2025

Author: Chuck Flowers

Major Program: Grains

Canola-Winter Ag Conference-2025

Carlisle County, Kentucky, boasts over 59,000 acres of soybeans and 31,000 acres of corn, contributing to over $74 million in grain sales, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture. Since 2010, local County Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agents have collaborated with colleagues from surrounding counties—including Fulton, Hickman, Carlisle, Graves, McCracken, Calloway, and Marshall—along with three adult agricultural educators from West Kentucky Community and Technical

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Grain Production Update

Author: Regina Utz

Major Program: Grains

Grain Production UpdateIn February, there was a multi-county (Trimble, Henry, Shelby, & Oldham) program held to help grain crop producers. The meeting consisted of six speakers for grain producers to get the most up to date information. The topics covered were Pre Harvest Marketing, Weed Control, Disease Management, and What Drives Corn Yield. The local Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation offices also attended to give insight to any upcoming programs they will be running.T

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2025 Purchase Area Winter Ag Conference: Canola

Author: Miranda Rudolph

Major Program: Grains

Purchase Area Winter Ag ConferenceThe Purchase Area is the westernmost region in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It is comprised of eight counties that contribute approximately 15% of the state’s total agricultural sales, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture. Since 2010, the University of Kentucky Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agents in the counties of Graves, Marshall, Calloway, Hickman, Carlisle, Fulton, and McCracken have partnered to host a conference in the western

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2025 Winter Ag Conference

Author: John Tucker

Major Program: Grains

2025 Winter Ag Conference

Hickman County, Kentucky, boasts over 47,000 acres of soybeans and 35,000 acres of corn, contributing to over $66 million in grain sales, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture. Since 2010, local County Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Agents has collaborated with colleagues from surrounding counties—including Fulton, Hickman, Carlisle, Graves, McCracken, Calloway, and Marshall—along with three adult agricultural educators from West Kentucky Community and Technical Co

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Kentucky Extension IPM Program 2021- 2024

Author: Ricardo Bessin

Major Program: Grains

Describe the Issue or Situation.The Kentucky extension IPM program is lead by Drs. Kiersten Wise, Edwin Ritchey, Carl Bradley, Travis Legleiter, Raul Villanueva, Nicole Gauthier, Rachel Rudolph, Jonathan Larson, and Julie Beale. This was a three-year USDA funded program  supported by the Crop Protection and Pest Management Program, Extension Implementation Program,project award no. 2021-70006-35440, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture.D

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2025 On Farm Safety Tool Development

Author: Evan Tate

Major Program: Grains

Each year farm related injuries are documented, especially during times of harvest. Farmers, first responders and community members, even after being trained, still note that in times of panic forget the information needed to expedite a successful recovery of the victim.Hancock County Cooperative Extension, working alongside the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Kentucky Fire Commission and the Hancock County Farm Bureau devised a tool that can be applied to all grain bins, new and old to be u

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Marketing Grain Crops to enhance Profitability

Author: Roger "Darrell" Simpson

Major Program: Grains

Describe the Issue or Situation.  Low prices for grain crops in 2024 and probably 2025 make it imperative that grain farmers market their crops for maximum return.Describe the Outreach or Educational Program Response (and Partners, if applicable). The Muhlenberg County Cooperative Extension Service Office utilized Dr. Grant Gardner, Grain Crops marketing specialist from the University of Kentucky Martin Gatton College of Agriculture Food and Environment to host a grain market outlook and ma

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Learning about no-till in Brazil

Author: Chad Lee

Major Program: Grains

Describe the Issue or Situation. 40 years ago, farmers from Brazil visiting the University of Kentucky to learn about no-till. Several university professors and extension personnel visited Brazil to help those producers conduct no-till. We were able to learn about their progress. Describe the Outreach or Educational Program Response (and Partners, if applicable).Brazil farmers in Parana State essentially all farm no-till or minimum till now. Farmers in other areas of Brazil are mostly no-ti

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Learning about your own farm in Brazil

Author: Chad Lee

Major Program: Grains

Describe the Issue or Situation. The Kentucky Corn Growers C.O.R.E. Farmer Program aims to: deliver classroom-style instructional learning, expand peer networks, and grain perspective from other business endeavors and learn by seeing. Each cohort targets about 20 early-career producers and involves learning sessions over about 2.5 years. CORE graduates are eligible to take an international trip to learn about farms and farming from a different perspective. In March 2024, C.O.R.E. graduates visit

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Extension and outreach programs for Kentucky and Surrounded states in 2024

Author: Raul Villanueva

Major Program: Grains

I participated in the main extension events that took place at the University of Kentucky-Research and Education Center at Princeton (UK-REC). In the UK-REC all the extension programs are in a recovery period after the devastating effects of the tornado of 2021 that destroyed all the center installations. In these events, there were a total of 329 attendees. Also, I had been on outreach programs for adults and children at Land Between the Lakes and at Fort Campell, there was an attendance of at

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New publication on the stink bugs of Kentucky with keys and color images

Author: Raul Villanueva

Major Program: Grains

In 2024, we published a peer reviewed manuscript on the stink bug fauna of Kentucky from specimens examined from museum, literature, public online repositories, and through scouting of field crops. Stink bugs have received a lot of attention as there are many economically important pest species in corn and soybeans. However, the status of species richness, distribution, and taxonomy remain overlooked and outdated in Kentucky (USA). Having such information at a regional scale is crucial to allow

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Identification of five native snail species as potential pests of soybeans and corn

Author: Raul Villanueva

Major Program: Grains

Since 2022, snails have been causing injuries to commercial fields of corn and soybeans in Kentucky. In 2022 a commercial soybean was severely affected, and in 2023 a cornfield was affected by a distinct species. In 2024, we found that at least three additional snail species were causing moderate damage to corn and soybeans. The occurrences of three native snails as pests of field crops have not been reported anywhere else in the USA. Injuries of native snails in field crops (corn and soybeans)

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Adoption of use of metaldehyde baits for the management of slugs and snails may have helped farmers for a successful soybean season

Author: Raul Villanueva

Major Program: Grains

The Villanueva entomology laboratory at the UK-REC at Princeton has been monitoring slugs and snails since January 2024. On 27 February, 2024, we published an article in the Kentucky Pest News blog titled “Slugs are Active in February 2024, but Farmers Have Two Registered Molluscicides under Section 24(c) in Kentucky” advising farmers to monitor for slugs. On April 30, 2024, a second article was published, “Pre- and Post-emergence Strike of Slugs & Snails on Soybeans.&rdquo

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Red Crown Rot Presentation

Author: Kelsey Mehl

Major Program: Grains

The problem:Red crown rot is a newer disease in the Northern US. It has been increasing it's spread over the past few years and has spread into Kentucky. We are doing studies on the disease to help farmers in Kentucky manage red crown rotThe educational program response:We have found preliminary results indicating that there are methods that are usable by local Kentucky farmers to help manage and hopefully stop the spread of disease in the state. While some of these methods cost money, there

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Acting Associate Dean & Director — Craig Wood, Ph.D.
S107 Ag. Science Center North
Lexington, KY 40546-0091
+1 (859) 257-4302

© 2024 University of Kentucky, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment