In today’s world there is a movement of people that are wanting to leave the urban communities, move to a rural environment and make a living from the land. The people doing this are buying small parcels of land on which to build their farms. They want to produce enough food to provide for their families and have more to sell to the community. Many of these people have never farmed before and want help to get started.

 This transition to farming is the most common issue I deal with as a new Extension agent. I am faced with this question often, “What should I do now that I have this land on which to start a farm?” With the help of Kentucky State University, I have held classes on small farming options requiring minimal upfront costs and small acreage. Some of these classes include bee keeping, pastured poultry, and a rabbit class. KSU, through grants, provided some of the supplies the participants needed to get started including bee hives, chicken cages and rabbit hutches. Each of these classes provided the training necessary for participants to produce a product for personal use and for income. The new beekeepers will have honey to sell.  The participants from the pastured poultry class have begun to produce eggs and processed birds to sell. Those that attended the rabbit class are raising rabbits that can sold live or processed. I had four families attend the beekeeping class, nine families in the poultry class and 16 in the rabbit class. I have followed up with most of these participants and they are using the materials provided by KSU and the skills taught in my classes. While these numbers may seem small, they are a beginning and were completed in the first four months of my career.  I have plans for additional classes and for increasing attendance in the future. 

Providing these classes gave people the opportunity to gain the skills and knowledge needed to begin their quest to live off of the land. These new farmers have options for producing income to cover personal living expenses while providing local food choices for the community.