Washington County Cattlemen's association facilitates Cost-Share programs each year. In my first few months as the ANR agent producers turned in their receipts for this year's cost-share purchases. I was asked to check that the bulls purchased were eligible for cost-share funds and unfortunately, we had to deny several of the bulls because they did not meet the standards provided by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. This gave me the idea to create a program on reading expected progeny differences so that our producers would be better able to select bulls for their breeding programs and so that they could make sure that the bulls they were purchasing met the criteria for cost-share before they purchased them. On March 15th, I hosted the Reading EPD's Program and at the end of the program, we discussed taking that information and applying it to cost-share. I had over 30 producers attend. This program has inspired producers to bring in their own cattle's EPD's so that we can discuss them and decide what direction they need to head with their operation and what they should be looking for when purchasing their next bull. I also think it was a great starter program to get producers in the door and familiar with me as their new agent. It also showcased that they were able to ask me questions about EPD's instead of other outside resources. 

At the end of the program, the participants were surveyed. 100% of the surveyed individuals: 

• Had a better understanding of how to read expected progeny differences
• planned to utilize the information they learned on their own farm
• felt comfortable utilizing cost-share guidelines and comparing them to their cattle's EPD's