Local farmers often stress over the lack of younger people interested in agriculture as a career.

This agent listened to concerns of the clients and Ag Council and strived to be involved in projects that brought youth and agriculture together.  For the past 24 years, the agent has participated with the 4-H Land Judging at the Kentucky State Fair.  This past year, he was able to gain the cooperation of Bernheim Forest in Bullitt County to provide a site for the event.

This year there were 14 competitors that represented 4 counties for the junior division (age 9 to 13) and 42 competitors that represented 7 counties for the senior division (age 14 to 18).  An event with this many youth requires volunteers to make it successful.  There were approximately 15-20 adult volunteers with these teams.  There were approximately 8 county extension personnel involved with the competition on-site, 3 state specialists, 2 NRCS Resource Soil Scientists, 2 technical staff from UK and 2 graduate students/student interns that assisted with the competition.  In summary, there were 56 youth under the age of 18 and 37 involved with the competition over the age of 18 for a total of 93 visitors to Bernheim Forest.

The agent was able to take many photographs at the event and then at the awards ceremony later that afternoon at the Kentucky State Fair in Louisville and make them available to everyone on Facebook. Events such as this, ensures that youth will continue to be involved in agriculture.