“Making Connections” - New Farmers Utilizing Morgan County Extension Resources

     Morgan County is one of the few counties in Eastern Kentucky that is experiencing population growth.  This trend reversal is due to the in-migration of new landowners and farmers from the western and northern United States. Enabled by internet property listings, many new owners are purchasing farms sight unseen and often with little to no experience in agriculture.  Armed with enthusiasm for their new venture, many of them are seeking information from the Extension Service for education and services.

     To help meet the needs of this new audience, Morgan County Extension agents and county extension council planned and hosted a community meeting entitled “Making Connections.”  Welcomed by extension council members, the meeting offered attendees refreshments, displays, educational handouts and an opportunity to individually “meet and greet” various agency representatives.  This was followed by formal presentations from 5 different agencies including Extension program areas (ANR, 4-H/Youth Development, CED and FCS), USDA and Ky Center for Ag and Rural Development.   In addition to the 35 attendees, the meeting received almost 500 Facebook Live and recorded viewings.

     FCS featured information and resources on Farm Safety and Health introducing the Farm Stress, Hearing Safety, Mental Health Challenges, Reducing the Stigma and Healthy Coping mechanisms along with home maintenance tips for summer.  The newest FCS requests, include a huge increase in food preservation information and programs.  We are experiencing a whole "new" group of clientele wanting/needing life skills education.

     As a result of this meeting, agencies have reported increased enrollment in their programs by new farmers and new landowners expressed great appreciation for the connections they were able to make for their endeavors.  In the words of one participant, “Purchasing a farm has been more overwhelming than we realized, but after tonight we know who to contact to help make it a success – we don’t feel quite so lost anymore!”