Success StoryDiversification into horticultural crops resulting from intensive on-farm demonstration and consultation



Diversification into horticultural crops resulting from intensive on-farm demonstration and consultation

Author: Dewayne Ingram

Planning Unit: Horticulture

Major Program: Commercial Horticulture

Outcome: Long-Term Outcome

Enterprise diversification of Kentucky farms has been a major emphasis of Extension/research programs in Horticulture for decades. A program plan developed in concert with the Kentucky Horticulture Council was developed in 2000 and the Kentucky Agriculture Development Fund has supported the project since 2001. The focus has been teaching and demonstrating the latest techniques in production and marketing systems for horticultural crops and carried out through extension specialists and associates of the University of Kentucky, Department of Horticulture. This Extension effort has also included field plot research at the CAFÉ research farms to develop new production systems, fine-tune existing protocols and evaluate many new cultivars. This program has helped farmers navigate a steep learning curve and rapid changes in production protocols, cultivars, etc.  For example, over that period of time the marketing systems for fresh produce have shifted dramatically to direct-to-consumer avenues to satisfy the demand for “locally grown.” This has dovetailed nicely with the Commonwealth’s, Kentucky Proud promotion program. On-farm demonstrations were a major element of the program but continued consultation over the years with demonstration cooperators, field days and tours, workshops, and individual problem solving in site visits, phone calls, emails and blogs have been critical to the success of these horticultural operations in Kentucky.  During the past 5-year period, characterized by annual grant resource reduction, we have conducted 117 successful on-farm demonstrations (most of which were using these advanced techniques for the first time), made 3,298 farm visits, 13,335 other meaningful contacts, conducted 213 field days/tours, published 203 newsletter and blog posts, and had 582,997 hits on web-based information, including YouTube videos. The horticulture industry continues to grow in terms of number of farmers, cash receipts, and importance to local communities. Due to this concerted effort of extension associates and supporting faculty, 79% of the farm families participating in the on-farm demonstration/consultation program over the 16-year period were still engaged in horticulture in 2017. Of course, during that period several farmers were not engaged in horticulture because they retired or were deceased. Almost 95% of participants in the past 5 year are still producing and marketing horticultural crops. This does not include the number of farms that started growing horticultural crops as an indirect result of field days and other related educational activities.






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