A few months back, Dr. Tope assigned the Kentucky State University West Regional Center the task of being a water quality testing facility. I adopted the assignment and have made great strides with the program alongside Dr. Tope and his partners. After running almost 100 samples, obtaining 15 consistent producers, and reaching 6 counties, the KSU West Regional Center Water Quality Lab has been quite successful! Within the western region, that counties that have been reached are Edmonson, Todd, Christian, Monroe, Warren, and Allen. We are hoping to get more involvement within Allen County soon. Other than hanging up flyers at feed stores, grain mills, and the local farm stores, I’ve been relying on word of mouth and email networking to get the information known. The Mammoth Cave ANR agents also know about this program and have agreed to spread the word when needed. 

Recently, our producers in Christian and Todd County have been very pleased with their results and our communication with each other. This group of producers are part of an Amish community, and we have a scheduled solid routine. I have driven (accept once) to the Fairview Produce Auction House (Christian County) every 2 weeks, on a Tuesday, to pick up water samples by 9am. This allows for 15 producers to get their water samples to the auction house office before I arrive. They receive their test results the next time I arrive back at the auction, or they call me if they would like them mailed. My next dates for pick up at that location are June 13^th and June 27^th. With this steady program, we hope to reach more producers!