Success StoryCrop Production



Crop Production

Author: Jay Stone

Planning Unit: Lyon County CES

Major Program: Tobacco

Plan of Work: To help foster the development of marketing, production, and managment skills within the area.

Outcome: Long-Term Outcome

Crop production is vital to the ag economy in Christian county, and on a per acre basis, tobacco remains the most valuable crop in the county. Nearly 7,900 acres are grown by 113 farmers, representing burley, dark-air, and dark fired tobacco.

In an effort to aid these producers in becoming more efficient in their operations, extension programming has mounted efforts to aid producers in the areas of disease control, variety selection, fertility management, and evaluation of tillage requirements. Information has been delivered to producers by means of production meetings, seasonal newsletters, On-farm demonstration trials,on-site visits,development of a tobacco resource manual. Christian county was also host to 3 separate GAP trainings for area tobacco producers. These meetings provided industry mandated training for more than 800 producers from Kentucky and Tennessee.

As a result of these efforts, 91 producers have reported the use of an extension recommended variety, 65 have reported that they have either calibrated or replaced chemical spraying equipment, have reported that they have followed UK recommended fertilizer recommendations, and 17 have adopted strip tillage methods which reduce the number of passes across a field. Each producer who reported the adoption of a practice change feels that their new practices have either made them more efficient or allowed them to decrease their overall operating expense.






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