Author: Jay Hettmansperger
Planning Unit: Garrard County CES
Major Program: Horticulture, Commercial
Plan of Work: Improving Agricultural Income
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
Garrard County was traditionally a big tobacco producing county. The tobacco buyout and the lack of available labor have forced local farmers out of tobacco production and searching for feasible alternatives. The Garrard County Ag and Natural Resource agent was contacted by a tobacco farmer about raising pumpkins as a commercial crop to help replace lost income. The Garrard County ANR agent contacted another ANR agent that specialized in pumpkin production for help in advising the grower. The ANR agents put a production plan and spray schedule together with the help of specialist and UK publications. The grower planted and harvested 10 acres the first year. The farmer sold over $50,000 dollars of pumpkins the first year. The farmer was able to increase his production the second year to 15 acres and sold over $80,000 dollars worth of pumpkins. This income helped replace some of the lost income from not growing tobacco. The farmer attributes all his success to the information and personal advise he received from the UK Cooperative Extension Service. He made a comment that the Extension service is the best network of experts he has ever worked with and could not have been successful without the advice he received from the ANR agents.
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