Author: Robert Pearce
Planning Unit: Plant and Soil Sciences
Major Program: Tobacco
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
US Tobacco GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) is an industry led program designed to insure that tobacco growers in the United States are well informed and follow the best practices for the production of all types of tobacco. Kentucky is the second leading producer of tobacco behind North Carolina, but has the most tobacco growers of any state due to the relatively smaller farm size. Tobacco growers are required to attend an annual training session conducted by Cooperative Extension Specialists. Through the COVID pandemic we have had to adjust the training methods from in-person to remote and in 2023 to a hybrid training model. I contributed three video training modules to GAP Connections to support online self-directed training for growers who chose this method of training. I also conducted 10 in-person training sessions impacting approximately 600 growers in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. Dr. Andy Bailey, Dr. Mitchell Richmond (University of Tennessee) and I recorded a zoom training session that was utilized in county Extension offices to train an additional 50+ growers who were unable to attend in-person training. Through this combination of training methods, we helped growers get their required training prior to the June 30th, 2023, training deadline so they could continue to grow tobacco.
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