East Kentucky continues to see a huge growth in the demand for local food; therefore, a resurgence of small part-time farmers has been growing, along with the commodity prices.  Also, since COVID, we have seen a tremendous influx of families moving into Eastern Kentucky wanting the homestead lifestyle. With this, the East Kentucky Farmer Conference continues to grow annually. The Knott County ANR agent has served on the planning committee and taught numerous workshops on a variety of topics since the conference began in 2017.

This year's conference was held in London, KY, with another record crowd of over 250 registered in attendance for the 2-day conference. Many agriculture-related classes were offered in areas of horticulture, livestock, and most importantly, marketing your value-added agriculture commodities.  This year, the Knott County ANR Agent taught on disaster preparedness on the farm.  The class had 32 in attendance and was a very active group, with many thanking me for putting together a workshop like this to help them. They were able to make family plans, create disaster preparedness kits, and overall become better prepared in case of disaster.  As we prepare for the 2026 East Kentucky Farmer Conference, the planning committee is committed to offering workshops that cater to the unique needs of small farms across East Kentucky, helping to keep family farms thriving and fostering a positive environment for strong families. The Cooperative Extension Service looks forward to continuing to be part of the planning, promotion, and educational workshops in the future.