Kentucky is currently home to over 69,000 farms with the average farm size being 179 acres, with the national average being over 400 acres. The puts the amount of farmland in Kentucky at just under 50% of the total 25.4 million acres. It is this abundance of farm land and the growing desire to transition into a more self sufficient way of life, that has lead to a surge of people moving to Kentucky to begin homesteading. 

After having several calls regarding homesteading laws and the necessary requirements to begin homestead, I decided to reach out to some of the agricultural stakeholders within the county to learn about their experience with this new desire within the county. After hearing the same thoughts from everyone, I believed it was necessary to offer a homesteading series with Rowan County. 

The classes offered were Raised Bed Gardening, Beginning Beekeeping, Canning 101, and Backyard Poultry. Throughout the series, several participants attended multiple or all classes that were offered within the series. Most of the participants I spoke to regarding these programs commented on how they planned to utilize this new information within their own production.