Kentucky has some 79,000 farms, most of which are small farms.  The number of farms, and the number of acres in farming, are declining.  Specifically, between the 2007 and 2012 Census, the number of farms in Kentucky decreased by about 10,000 with the major losses being in small and mid-sized farms.  Likewise, the number of acres in farming decreased by a reported 943,000 acres.  When the 2018-19 Census is released, it will show even more declines as aging farmers retire and urban encroachment/urban sprawl has resulted in turning farmland into industrial lands and houses.  There has been a significant loss in African American farm owners and/or operators during this period.  Intervention is needed if there continues to be a significant number of resilient small and African American farms in Kentucky.  

The Kentucky State University (KSU) Small Farm Program is an Extension program designed to help farm families with decision-making skills to solve farm and home problems. It includes educational programs that emphasize farm production, farm management, and marketing.  It also includes the use and understanding of local county programs and USDA agencies and their programs, plus providing technical assistance in completing applications for the program and the entire application process.  The KSU Small Farm Program’s Area Agent for Small Farms works with small, limited-resource, and minority farmers, most of whom have not used Extension prior to his intervention.  He targets minority farmers, farmers who are new to Extension, or farmers who think that Extension is not for them.  First he has to gain their confidence.  Then he has to show them that he can help them to meet some of their needs.  This is his experiences with one beginning farmer.

An African American beginning farmer in Clark County, KY contacted the Kentucky State University Area Agent for Small Farms to request assistance to complete a USDA Farm Service Agency Farm Ownership Loan application and a Farm Operating Loan application.  These included the basic applications, a Farm Business Plan Worksheet for alfalfa hay production, a Three-Year Production History Plan, and a Financial History Plan. His Farm Ownership Loan application and Farm Operating Loan application were submitted on September 20, 2016 with the USDA Farm Service Agency. The applications were submitted in the amount of $152,000 for the Farm Ownership Loan and $4,200 for the Farm Operating loan.  The applications were approved for funding on December 29, 2016.   The beginning farmer purchased a 20-acre farm in December of 2016.  Then the farmer requested assistance to get a high tunnel to grow vegetables in January of 2017. The Area Agent for Small Farms assisted him in completing a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service EQIP application for a high tunnel.  On July 2017, the farmer was approved for $10,000 to install a high tunnel to grow vegetables. On October 2017, the farmer had completed installing the high tunnel.

In July of 2018, the beginning farmer requested assistance for getting a hay storage facility for his alfalfa hay crop. The KSU Area Agent for Small Farms recommended to the farmer that he make an appointment with his local Agriculture and Natural Resources County Extension Agent to see if it was open enrollment for the Kentucky Office of Agricultural Policy’s County Agricultural Incentive Program (CAIP) which administers cost-sharing for hay storage facilities in Clark County, Kentucky.  After that meeting, the Area Agent for Small Farms assisted the farmer with his CAIP application.  The hay storage facility application was approved in September of 2018 for a $6,000 cost-share. The farmer will be reimbursed for $3,000 for the hay storage facility after it has been installed.

With five acres of alfalfa, the farmer can expect to have annual hay sales of $7,000.  He also can expect to make $4,000 on vegetables.  Based on his sales and production records, the farmer was able to pay the farm operation loan in full, and make the farm ownership loan payments.  With these sales, the farmer was able to operate his farm independently and produce adequate income to service his debts, maintain his farming operations, and to supplement the family’s expendable income.  Teaching the farmer to be diversified, to evaluate the farm’s potential, to better evaluate a mix of enterprises that spread the risks and reduce erosion, will help the farm to be more sustainable, and more resilient, over time. This will help him to provide a reasonable standard of living for his family.