Author: John Tucker
Planning Unit: Hickman County CES
Major Program: Farm Management, Economics and Policy
Plan of Work: Creating agricultural knowledge and improving agricultural and environmental practices in Hickman County
Outcome: Initial Outcome
Hickman County has over 47,000 acres of soybeans and 35,000 acres of corn producing over 66 million dollars in sales of grain for the county (2022 Census of Agriculture). Hickman County ag agent collaborated with other local ag agents from Fulton, Carlisle, Graves, McCracken, Calloway, and Marshall Counties as well as three adult ag teachers from WKCTC to provide the annual Winter Ag Conference. This informational meeting was held at Lowry Farms in Pilot Oak, Kentucky. With drone usage on crop fields increasing in the participating counties, a need for information on proper usage, licensing, and permits for drones arose. Four drone professionals were invited to discuss their work with drones including: Josh Lancaster – Drone use on the farm, Jeremy Sandifer – Drone Technology in Ag, Josh Jackson – Drone Licensing and Sizing, and Jack Tearman – Using Drones for Custom Aerial Applications. After the presentations, a panel discussion was organized where all four speakers answered questions from the audience. Lunch and door prizes were provided by product vendors and sponsors on site. 117 farmers and sponsors (male = 95, female = 22, youth=14) attended this year’s conference with a large crowd gathering outside afterwards for a drone demo. Program evaluation results showed gains in participants knowledge of drone use. Specifically, 100% of respondents gained knowledge, 95% would apply or possibly apply what they learned on their farm, and 96% would be willing to adopt new technologies.
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