In January, Extension agriculture agents from southwestern Kentucky and north-central Tennessee hosted the fifth Kentucky/Tennessee Grain Conference in Russellville, KY. Agents from Todd and Logan Counties in Kentucky; and Montgomery and Robertson Counties in Tennessee cooperated in this effort, along with specialists from both states.

 The program included presentations on weed management and dicamba issues; agriculture applications of unmanned aircraft systems (drones); a 2018 grain market outlook, and the top five keys to profitability for 2018 corn and soybeans. The keynote speaker was Greg Peterson of the Peterson Farm Brothers. The Peterson Farm Brothers are 3 young farmers from Assaria, Kansas, who make farm music videos and produce other social media content designed to help millennials (and others) have a better understanding of today’s agriculture. Their videos are mostly parodies of “pop” songs, reworked with farm work video and words portraying actual farm activities in a fun and entertaining way. The Petersons’ farm operation includes grain, cattle and commercial hay production. 

 Greg showed several of the Peterson family videos and talked about how he and his family got started trying to educate teens and young adults about agriculture. Their goal is to portray agriculture in a positive light and reinforce the fact that most farms today are family operations (even the larger ones). They want the public to understand where their food comes from and what a real family farm looks like. Peterson also told the audience that all farmers need to be concerned about how the public perceives agriculture (and food) and should be continually advocating for agriculture. 

 More than 140 people participated in the Conference, with the majority being farmers. Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) CEU credits and Commercial Pesticide CEU credits were provided for industry professionals that needed them. 

 Of those who participated in the program evaluation, over 90% indicated that what they learned would help improve their crop weed control, and/or improve their overall crop management. Approximately 80 percent said that drones might have potential usefulness in their operations, and more than 85 percent said that the marketing presentation would help improve their grain marketing. Approximately 85 percent said that Greg Peterson’s presentation showed them that farmers need to be advocating for agriculture. For those who provided an estimate of the economic impact of the program on their farming operation, the total value was more than $2.5 million. 

 “Write-in” comments on the evaluations were very complimentary of the conference, and some producers provided suggestions for future conference topics. Feedback from the 15 vendors and other sponsors was also positive.

 This Grain Conference is one of three important activities where Extension agents in this area of Kentucky and Tennessee cooperate on major educational or marketing activities. The other programs are the Certified Preconditioned for Health (CPH) Sales held at the Kentucky/Tennessee Livestock Market in Guthrie, KY; and the TN/KY Tobacco Expo held each year in Springfield, Tennessee.