The University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Services in Butler and Warren Counties partnered together to offer a fall field day program to feature the Hunt’s Family Farm. Their farm is a diversified operation highlighting specialty cuts of beef and cut flowers.

The horticulture agent in Warren County worked specifically on providing the cut flower educational track that was offered at the field day. This track highlighted Fredia T’s Flowers and the SOKY Floral Exchange which are both housed on the farm. Fredia T’s Flowers is a commercial cut flower farm operation where they grow seasonal bouquets and specialize in wedding arrangements. The SOKY Floral Exchange is another marketing channel for cut flower growers to consider who are interested in selling locally grown blooms in order to reach florists located in southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee areas.

Extension Agents for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Butler County and the Horticulture Extension Agent in Warren County worked closely to secure sponsorship needed to host the field day and market the program. Butler County Farm Bureau and Farm Credit of Mid-America sponsored the event. The horticulture agent promoted the field day on several local outlets including WBKO Channel 13 through the Farm and Home Show TV spot, Warren County Agriculture Facebook page, Warren County Horticulture Happenings Newsletter and UK Center for Crop Diversification Newsletter mailing lists, and on the electronic sign located at the Warren County Extension Office.

The fall field day, held in Morgantown, KY on Thursday, September 7^th, 2023, attracted a record high attendance of 154 people with 25 of those individuals noting special interest in learning more about the SOKY Floral Exchange via online registration. At the beginning of the field day, participants learned about direct-to-consumer marketing from UK Extension Associate from Center for Crop Diversification before breaking into the 2 educational tracks. Those who attended the cut flower portion of the program received a detailed overview of how the SOKY Floral Exchange operates, how to plan, prepare and plant hardy annuals for fall cut flower production from Tara Watkins, UK Extension Nursery Associate for Cut Flowers, as well as other resources for Kentucky cut flower growers and other upcoming cut flower programs.

After the field day, participants enjoyed a meal and entertainment provided by the Butler County 4-H members. To gather information learned and other successes from the field day, 80 participants completed a post-evaluation survey generated through Qualtrics. From survey results, 66% of the respondents noted that their “favorite thing” about the program was the location and the networking opportunities. 44% of participants noted learning more about the SOKY Floral Exchange and fall cut flower preparation and planting.    

A few days following the event, the Warren County Horticulture Extension Agent posted a video showing photos taken from the cut flower field day to the Warren County Agriculture Facebook page. A cut flower field day participant commented directly under that post, “you guys did a fabulous job! Well worth our drive from Paducah, KY. Thank you!”