Educational programs that strengthen agriculture production skills are a continued priority identified by the Oldham County Extension and Agriculture Councils.   In Oldham County, pasture makes up one-third of available farmland and provides grazing for livestock.   Livestock are important to Oldham County’s economy, with cattle alone representing over 2.6 million dollars in sales in 2017, according to the last Census of Agriculture.  

Because of the economic importance of cattle production here, agriculture extension agents in Oldham, Trimble, Henry, and Shelby Counties have organized and held Regional Beef Field Days for farmers annually since 2005. These field days offer farmers an opportunity to see how production practices work on other farms. Field days also promote the use of new practices that improve production efficiency while protecting natural resources, which are goals outlined in the county plan of work.  

Regional Beef Field Day was held at an Oldham County farm in September 2021. During the field day, 170 area producers attended and learned about:

 - Host farm family’s herd management and bull selection
 - Pros and cons of available commodity feeds
 - Pond management

Presenters included a young farmer, a University of Kentucky Extension Beef Specialist, and a Kentucky State University Aquaculture Specialist.  Agriculture Extension agents identified topics of interest and benefit to producers; contacted speakers; and led tours during the field day. The host farm and the Oldham County Extension Agriculture Agent raised $1,000 in sponsor funds to help cover field day costs. Producers also had the opportunity to visit exhibitor tables for information to help their farm enterprises.  Exhibitors included Natural Resources Conservation Service, Division of Forestry, local lenders, a local breed marketing association, and a local cattle handling equipment business.

The 2021 Regional Beef Field Day was the first big event held in Oldham County since March of 2020 due to pandemic-influenced programming delays.  This was the first educational and networking event that some farmers had attended in a while.  An Oldham County farmer commented, “This is always a great event, and it was really nice this year because I got to see people I hadn’t seen in some time.  And I got to learn first-hand from the experiences of another farmer.”

Additionally, this field day enabled many area cattle producers to complete education requirements for Kentucky Ag Development Fund’s cost-share program.  This cost-share program has helped farmers across Kentucky make significant improvements to their farming operations.