According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture, Metcalfe County is the home to 138,477 acres of farmland.  Of this land, 26% is woodland, totaling just over 36,000 acres.  Metcalfe and surrounding counties provide a significant amount of hardwood to the lumber industry and keeping our forests productive is important for the future. Timber stand improvement can be successfully achieved by implementing management practices and utilizing available resources. Over the past several years Bill and Chris Lagermann, owners of Red Lick Ranch have transitioned their 200 plus acres of woodland into a managed tree farm and they were recently named Kentucky Tree Farmers of the Year. 

On October 3, 2019 the Metcalfe County Extension Service partnered with the Lagermanns and a host of other state agencies and held the Kentucky Tree Farmer of the Year Field Day. The field day consisted of a class room session and various tour stops through out the Lagermann's property. Attendees where able to see the improvements that had been made to this farm, learn management techniques and were made aware of a variety of available woodland owner resources. 

Participants were surveyed at the end of the field day. Ninety five percent of those responding said that this program would help them with their woodland. One hundred percent said that they plan to learn more about their land, and plan to implement one or more woodland practices. Ninety percent said they plan to work with a forester or other natural resource professional. Surveys also revealed that there was a 76% gain in knowledge concerning the importance of trees and woodland resources. There was a 75% gain in knowledge pertaining to the importance of implementing woodland practices. There was a 55% gain in knowledge related to sources and types of woodland assistance.