Kentucky agriculture and natural resources and horticulture county Extension agents reported an increase in number of inquiries related to organic and sustainable home gardening. In 2015, two agent in-service workshops were conducted by Extension professionals in Departments of Plant Pathology, Horticulture, and Entomology. Workshops consisted of presentations and hands-on activities addressing management of diseases, insects, and weeds, as well as plant nutrition and composting. Twenty percent of Kentucky’s agriculture and natural resources/horticulture agents participated in the workshops.

A survey measured skill retention and implementation 12 months after attending the training. Agents reported a high level of retention for each of the program topics including plant disease management, insect management, weed management, and plant nutrition/composting, with values of 4.20, 4.00, 4.10, 4.30 (on a 5-point scale) respectively. On average, agents rated their ability to assist homeowners with questions on the topic of organic and sustainable gardening as a 3.80 on a 5-point scale. Attendees indicated that information obtained from the training has been used to advise homeowners (90%) of attendees, in newsletters (70%), to provide presentations to the public (60%), in media articles (40%), on radio/tv (40%), and on social media (30%). In total these agent activities have generated 1,062 direct contacts and 44,952 indirect contacts. Agents also stated that “the training was excellent” and that they “would love to continue to have advanced trainings on this topic.”