Author: Irma Johnson
Major Program: Workforce Preparation - ANR
Describe the Issue or Situation.Expungement-101: Starting a New Chapter was a program developed by the Community Resource and Development Office at Kentucky State University to support individuals with non-violent criminal records. It provided education on expungement, legal and financial assistance for related fees, and workshops to promote stable employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.Describe the Outreach or Educational Program Response (and Partners, if applicable).The program fe
Author: Kennedy Hannah
Major Program: Nutrition and Food Systems General
Describe the Issue or Situation. Many teenagers lack the essential cooking skills that are useful throughout their lives, including meal planning, food preparation, nutrition and kitchen safety. Demonstrations often focus on nutritious meals , teaching teens how to make healthy food choices and prepare balanced meals, promoting a long-term healthier lifestyle. Teens are more likely to try new foods and ingredients when they see how to prepare them. Cooking fosters creativity as teens experi
Author: Edwin Chavous
Major Program: Small Farm Diversification
August 14, 2024“KSU Small Farm Program Continue to Provides Technical Assistance for Minority Pasture Poultry Farmer in Madison County, Kentucky”The Kentucky State University (KSU) Small Farm Program is an Extension program designed to help farm families with decision-making skills to solve farm and home problems. It includes educational programs that emphasize farm production, farm management, and marketing. It also includes the use and understanding of local county programs a
Describe the Issue or Situation.Title: KSU 4th Wednesday Beef Cattle Workshop July 24, 2024; 6pm – Location Harold R. Benson Research & Demonstration FarmTopic: Summer Grazing and Forage ManagementIssue: Limited Resource Minority producers received technical information Summer Grazing and Forage Management for beef cattle.Describe the Outreach or Educational Program Response (and Partners, if applicable).For a two hour period Limited Resource Minority producers received resea
Describe the Issue or Situation.Title: Kentucky State University 4th Wednesday Beef Cattle Workshop March 27, 2024; 6pm – Location: Blue Grass Stock Yard, Lexington, Kentucky Topic: Reproductive Management & Marketing Your Livestock.Limited Resource Minority producers received technical information Reproductive Management & Marketing Beef Cattle.Describe the Outreach or Educational Program Response (and Partners, if applicable).For a two hour period Limited Resource Minority p
Describe the Issue or Situation.Title: Kentucky State University “Third Thursday Thing” Field Day; Location: Harold R. Benson Research & Demonstration Farm July 27, 2024; 9amIssue: A field day was conducted for farmers in all counties across the state of Kentucky.Describe the Outreach or Educational Program Response (and Partners, if applicable).What has been done: The field day consisted of six field stations, six walking stations and ten booths with different su
Author: Brian Walker
Major Program: Workforce Preparation – 4-H Youth Development
Exploring Careers with AgDiscovery at Kentucky State University is the topic of what one student had to say about this unique camp. This past summer (2024) one of the past participants came to the camp because of her love for the veterinary science field and that it was being held in the state of Kentucky. Ms. Julissa along with 17 other participants were able to attend one of the primier KYSU summer camps and stay on campus for two weeks learning about all things that deal with the animal scien
Author: Tamara Potter
Major Program: Beekeeping
Describe the Issue or Situation.Beekeepers have difficulty being able to manage diseases, and the KSU autoclave makes it possible to sterilize beekeeping equipment. For over two years, the KSU autoclave has not been used, but beginning Nov. 2024, the autoclave is now operable. Describe the Outreach or Educational Program Response (and Partners, if applicable). The autoclave has been able to sterilize equipment for three beekeepers (two commercial, one researcher). T
Author: Jeremy Sandifer
Major Program: Small Farm Management
Small Unmanned Arial Systems (sUAS) or “drones” are increasingly being utilized with the promise of improved efficiencies in agriculture operations that affect farm profit, worker safety, and overall situational awareness. There is an abundant need for continued exposure to drones and in continuing education for informing farmers and adjacent professionals on the benefits of the technology.To provide learning opportunities for farmers and adjacent professionals, members of the Land G
Author: Nolan Pettit
Major Program: Agriculture
Every year, one of my biggest events is our McLean County Youth Ag & Safety Day. We bring in all the 4th grade students from each elementary school from across the county to our park. We have several community members who are involved in agriculture to come and speak with the children at each booth. While most of our vendors are directly related to agriculture, we also invite local first responders to speak about the dangers involved with being around farm equipment that might be easily acce
Major Program: Leadership
After the formation of our county Teen club we have been working together as our teens are starting to come and volunteer at more 4-H events. We recently had our officer elections for the first time in our clubs, this was a great experience for the teens. I watched as the nominations and elections of officers went smoothly. The teens identified who they thought the best were for every position instead of thinking of themselves and nominated those individuals. We had a smooth supportive elec
Author: Chandra DeRamus
Major Program: Science, Engineering, and Technology
Title: CYFAR (Children, Youth, and Families at Risk) Grant Supports Field Trip for Youth in Hardin County-Sept. 2024Name: Chandra DeRamus, FCS Extension AgentPlanning Unit: Hardin County CESMajor Program: 4-H-Science, & TechnologyDate: 9/30/24 Within certain communities within Kentucky, families are faced with different challenge. Among those challenges are rent increases, food increases, and the rising cost of utilities. When the cost of goods increase, that m
Author: Gunnar Psurny
Major Program: Aquaculture
Describe the Issue or Situation.This event highlighted the importance of heart healthy foods that are easy to prepare, shareable, and accessible for community members. As well as the importance of using electric cooking equipment that can be safer, cheaper, and easier to use than traditional gas or charcoal cooking equipment. The feature of this event was the importance of bringing people together, in this case over the love of football which we commonly associate with lots of rich and delicious
Author: Megan Treadway
According to 2022 data from the State of Childhood Obesity website, 24.6% of Kentucky children ages 10 to 17 have obesity. This places Kentucky’s childhood obesity rates at second highest in the nation for this age group. Recent research has suggested that teaching cooking skills to children encourages healthier food choices, which can lower obesity rates. In an effort to address this, the Area Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences partnered with county agents to provide cooking
Author: Tyler London
Major Program: Economic and Business Development - ANR
Agents in the West 8 area noticed many farmers' lack of willingness to incorporate new technology into their farming operations. One technology that has become very popular in recent years is drones. Drones are becoming a huge part of the agricultural industry. With that being said, many farmers are reluctant to use them because they're "new" or "this is how I've always done it", or simply because it is perceived to be expensive and unaffordable. Agents from
Author: Casey Townsend
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has a high percentage of an aging workforce for skilled positions. According to the 2022 Semi-Annual Report on Female and Minority Employment, 95.14% of Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Personnel was a white verses 4.86% being minority. As a pre-requisite to prepare more minorities for careers in the transportation industry, a 2-week residential camp is funded annually by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and Federal Highway Administration to enco
McClean County and Carlisle, Kentucky are both rural populations with a large farming community. With them being agricultural areas computer science is not a priority in preparing for future careers. 4-H Agents Nolan Petit and Cole Bell assessed the needs for clubs outside of the traditional model to start STEM clubs in their respective counties. The results were overwhelming with the clubs becoming full. Due to the high interest in STEM clubs, the 4-H agents requested a SPIKE
Author: Laura Rogers
The issue centered around the difficulty of engaging underserved Hispanic and small farm communities in Whitley County through agricultural education. Many were unaware of available resources or lacked access to relevant programs. To bridge this gap, the Spanish-to-English Program was launched in February 2024, offering monthly bilingual sessions on key agricultural topics. The program has reached 380 participants, including 279 Hispanic contacts, with many returning each month, demonstrating on
