Woodford County is becoming more urbanized, and the Horticulture and Agriculture Extension Agents get more questions from residents with small acreage who are considering what enterprise may be available to help supplement their income in the future. In response to this need, the Agriculture and Horticulture Agent developed a four-week series entitled ‘Living on a Few Acres’. The series was held at the Woodford County Extension Office. It opened with a session called “Where Do I Start?” which touched on topics ranging from goal setting, agencies and services, available financial resources and record keeping. Other sessions outlined livestock and forages, poultry and bees, vegetables and fruit, farm diversification, and marketing. Partners in the series included local farmers, extension specialists, and local agencies including the farm service agency and conservation district. These partners offered their expertise, resources, and publications.

A total of forty participants attended the series. Attendees included landowners and those leasing land that ranged in size anywhere from 30 acres to less than an acre. Findings from the pretest-posttest evaluation showed significant gains in participants’ knowledge of what enterprises they can consider for supplementing their income in the future. Participants were rated on a scale of knowledge from Poor, Average, Good, to Excellent. Results from the pretest show that an average of 32% of participants had poor knowledge of all topics covered, 55% average knowledge, only 12% good knowledge, and 0% excellent knowledge. Results from the posttest show that an average of 20% of participants had excellent knowledge of the topics covered, 63% had good knowledge, 16% had average knowledge, and 0% had poor knowledge. Furthermore, an average of 70% of participants strongly agreed that the program was practical, helpful, timely and that speakers were effective in teaching the materials. 

One participant stated this about the program: 

“This training was amazing! I was so overwhelmed and couldn’t decide even where to start. Now I will spend this year planning and just developing personal infrastructure according to what you shared here. This was both aspirational and actionable.”