Author: Will Stallard
Planning Unit: Lincoln County CES
Major Program: Dairy
Plan of Work: Management and Marketing
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
Historically Lincoln County has had a long history of family dairy farms. With younger generations moving away from the family farm and a tough milk industry the family dairy farms have declined. According to Kentucky Milk Safety Branch and Kentucky Department of Agriculture as of April 2018 there were 32 active milk permits in Lincoln County. Many of those dairies in Lincoln County are Mennonite or Amish families that choose not to use modern technology like cell phones or internet. The University of Kentucky Dairy Extension Specialists do a wonderful job creating a regular newsletter called Dairy Notes. This newsletter contains research based information to give management suggestions to its readers. Dr. Donna Amaral-Phillips, UK Dairy Extension Nutritionist, Meredith Scales, KDDC Area Representative and I made farm visits this past summer and fall. On those visits we discovered that much of the information shared through the newsletter was being put in practice on the farms. From management of calves to feeding strategies and milk room procedures. Also gained on the visits were inspiration for upcoming educational articles and timely reminders for the newsletter. Overall a great use of UK Extension Resources and collaboration between dairy organizations to improve the management ability of our producers.
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