Farm fertility programs have always been an important management program for farming operations. Lewis County takes in between 250 to 300 soil samples per year. This tool allows farmers to dial in their fertility program for each crop that is grown on their operation. By applying a proper amount of fertilizer farmers can ensure what is only needed to grow their specific crops.  The soil test recommendations are research based so that each farmer can apply fertilizer based on their crop needs as well as staying within their economic threshold.

However, the post COVID-19 pandemic environment revealed an inflation on many goods and services which included fertilizer.  This much-needed asset in the agriculture community almost tripled in price.  With the increase in cost, farmers began to look at their soil management practices weighing options to weather this "storm" financially.   The forecast on fertilizer prices did not show any signs of improvement, so the ANR Agents in the Buffalo Trace Area put together a program on soils and soil fertility called, Fertilizer Academy, to assist farmers in making decisions on their farm.

The program consisted of four individual sessions with topics covering:  nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium; role of micronutrients and CEC; lime and pH; and lastly the economics of spreading your fertilizer dollars further.  The sessions were offered via Zoom and as a "watch party" at some Extension Offices for clientele that either did not have access to high-speed internet or did not feel comfortable using the technology.  Each session was also recorded, and a link posted on YouTube, so participants could go back and watch if they needed to review the information at their convenience.  While the program was developed with farmers in mind, the opportunity arose to allow it to be developed into an educational series for employees of USDA Natural Resources Offices across the state of Kentucky. 

Sessions had differing amount of folks in attendance but overall there were 109 participants that registered for the program.  At the conclusion of the program an evaluation was given out to provide feedback.  Twenty-four of these evaluations were returned.  Of the 24 evaluations 85% of the attendees either strongly agreed or agreed that each session was relatable to their farming operations.  Approximately 70% of attendees plan to make changes to their soil fertility management decisions on their farm based off what they learned during the Fertilizer Academy program as well as feel like they can more efficiently spend their fertilizer budget in the future.  From the 24 evaluation responses, approximately 2500 acres of land can potentially be improved by attending this program. 

Many of the farmers had not utilized budgets prior to the program in fertilizer decision making, over 50% of the responses of the evaluation stated that they plan to use budgets in determining what they can afford for 2023. 

One-hundred percent of the evaluations either strongly agreed, or agreed, that they enjoyed the program.