According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, volunteerism of Americans peaked around 30% in 2004. Today, that number is 25 percent. This leadership decline is also apparent in the agriculture community. This loss of leaders coupled with the great diversity of agriculture operations here in northern Kentucky, highlight the importance of having engaged farmers in organizations, and part of the conversations around public policy that affect the farming community.

UK Agriculture Extension Agents from Pendleton, Campbell, Boone and Kenton Counties began working on a leadership program in October 2018. This program had an aim of recruiting younger farmers who could become effective leaders in our region. Extension Agents designed and implemented an 8 session program to help them hone their leadership skills and covered such topics as effective leadership, diversity, communications, agribusiness, working with local, state, and federal government officials, and policy organizations. Boone County ANR Agent specifically worked with University of Kentucky specialists: Hayley Pierce, Melissa Bond, Mia Farrell, and Dr. Michelle Arnold to arrange and collaborate schedules for them to teach the group of leaders about various topics including working with local government, communities and resources in the state. This was in addition to collaborative efforts with Kentucky Farm Bureau representatives Mike Tobin and Joe Claxon and Kentucky Corn Grower’s, Russell Schwenke, to familiarize these up and coming leaders with other people that started out the same way and become more involved in commodity groups over the years to help build confidence and assure that they are qualified and capable of assuming leadership positions in the community. In addition, a retired leadership development professional mentored the participants that had the goal of creating a project that could make a positive impact on the regions' agriculture. The seven participants in this class worked together to form a working group to address informing the public about local farms and farm operations. They chose to use social media to pass along relevant and research based information and news of the agriculture industry. They launched Ag Where You Live NKY in March. The group posts on this website about local markets, local products, and local issues facing the farming community. The page currently has 75 followers.

Since the thrust of this program is to develop leaders, the participant from Boone County that participated in NKY Ag Leadership has gone on to lead in Boone County. This participant is now a board member for the Boone Conservation District, Boone County Agriculture Development Board, and the Boone County Farm Tour committee. This participant has taken AG Where You Live NKY to a higher level in Boone County by incorporating the Farm Tour and taking the extra steps to educate the local community about agriculture and farm products grown in their own community by opening the gates of their own operation and sharing the everyday challenges and successes of farming. The result of their work is a better balance between Boone County’s urban and rural community affecting community policies that are developed.