For many folks in Fleming County, the best apple to use in cooking is the Goddard Apple.This variety of apple tree is named for the area of the county it was established in and for Joseph Goddard, the founder of the community.  The concern for this variety, is the few trees that are left are over 100 years old and in major decline.  

An apple tree workshop for the region was held at the Fleming County Extension office in March with participants attending from 7 counties.  Along with classes on all aspects of orchard management, the program included a grafting workshop.  Prior to the workshop, agents contacted a local historian that lived in the Goddard area and knew the families that still had some of the trees.  Agents visited those farms and collected scion wood from the trees and shared the material with participants at the workshop.  With over 25 samples grafted and shared throughout the community, we hope that some will survive and produce new trees to preserve the variety.  Agents took grafted trees to the host farm to plant and also pruned the original trees to encourage new growth with the hope for additional cuttings next year.