Educating the Beginner Beef Producer: Beef Bootcamp 

Creating a platform for educating beginning producers is a top priority for Warren County Agriculture. According to the 2022 Census, Warren County ranks in the top five for cattle production, fourth in the number of cows, and has 846 beginning farmers. 

Whitney Peck, a summer intern, dedicated her project to educating and reaching out to beginner beef producers. Her focus on using media as a flexible and accessible resource led to the creation of Beef Bootcamp—a six-episode video series. Each episode delved into an essential topic for starting a beef cattle herd, including cattle genetics, herd health, forage, nutrition, cattle handling, and cattle economics. Each episode included a different extension specialist on that topic. This initiative has been a resounding success, providing a platform that Warren County can be proud of. 

The videos were published on the Warren County Agriculture YouTube channel, Facebook page, Instagram page, and radio. Segments were also promoted on Farm and Home a television show on the local abc and Fox affiliate reaching 15000 households. 

After each episode, viewers were encouraged to complete an evaluation form, fostering a sense of community and shared learning. To further encourage participation, individuals who submitted an evaluation were entered into a drawing for a portable Blackstone griddle. Those who completed all evaluations automatically received a UK Extension sorting flag, reinforcing the sense of shared achievement and involvement in the project. 

Participants who submitted evaluations reported several key learning outcomes. Based on the topics covered in the series, 89% said they learned something new about establishing a beef farm. 78% reported that watching the videos made them feel more confident in starting their operation. 72% shared that they plan to implement a new practice introduced in the videos. By providing beginner producers with a flexible and trustworthy resource, Warren County Agriculture is not just disseminating information; it is actively helping to ease the challenges of starting a beef cattle farm—one episode at a time.