Educational programs that increase agriculture awareness in Oldham County are a continued priority identified by Oldham County’s Extension and Agriculture Councils.  This continues to be a challenge in Oldham County, where residential areas make up just over half of the county’s land mass.

The Oldham County Ag Connection is a new program that is designed to address community agriculture awareness.  This program will consist of quarterly meetings with special topics of interest to producers, residents, and government officials.  The first meeting of the Oldham County Ag Connection took place in September 2019.  Guest speaker David Knopf, Regional Director of the National Ag Statistics Service gave an overview of agriculture statistics and the value of agriculture in Oldham County, based on annual reports and the 2017 Ag Census.

Twenty-six participants, including elected officials, residents, and farmers attended the meeting and learned about top agriculture enterprises in Oldham County.

Some key takeaway points included:

• There are 466 farms in Oldham County
• Farms occupy 42% of the land in Oldham County
• The value of ag products sold in 2017 was $18.5 million
• Horses continue to be the top ag commodity, with cash value of farm marketings at $6.3 million, followed by Grain Crops ($4.4 million); Cattle ($2.6 million); and Nursery/Greenhouse/Sod ($2.3 million)
• Oldham County’s diverse operations also include aquaculture, poultry, sheep, goats, hemp, and vegetable production.  

Future meetings will include farmers as guest speakers, plus state agriculture figures who can speak to the economic impact of agriculture in Oldham County and Kentucky.  Learning about agriculture enterprises and their economic impact to the community is important on many levels.  It helps residents understand how to be better neighbors to nearby farmers.  It also helps residents gain a better understanding of how to access local foods through farmers markets and community supported agriculture locations.  And it also emphasizes the role of farming in long-term planning for Oldham County.