On December 10, 2021, a violent EF4 tornado ripped through West Kentucky destroying several housing developments, farms, and the University of Kentucky Research and Education Center in Princeton, Kentucky.  In the early morning aftermath on December 11, Agents in the Caldwell County Extension office went to work volunteering for triage and support to provide immediate necessities to friends and coworkers who were completely devastated.

Shortly thereafter the Agriculture and Natural Resources agent was on the ground assessing the damage to the vast agriculture sector of Caldwell County. 36 farms were quickly identified as either damaged or completely gone.  An agriculture needs list was developed and distributed to the flood of calls of support coming from the agriculture communities of 11 different states. With help from the Caldwell/Lyon Cattlemen’s Association and Boyd’s Performance Horses of Princeton two collection sites were quickly established to house and distribute fencing supplies, feed, hay, lumber, and other building supplies. Follow up visits were made to producers as the weeks and months went by to finalize most needs of the agriculture community of Caldwell County.  The ANR agent invested 456 direct hours to the tornado relief in December, January, and February.