Like most of the country, direct personal access to Extension professionals by the operators of urban gardens and other farm enterprises is limited due to travel restrictions and health concerns related to the Covid 19 pandemic.  The founder and operator of the grass roots community driven agricultural production entity known as the Russellville Urban Gardening Project in the heart of one of the lowest socio-economic areas of Logan County, is struggling to get ground broke for Spring planting.  Aside from the usual battles with weather, including fluctuating temperatures and excessive rainfall, this year obtaining access to tillage equipment has proven problematic.  Catering to a diverse population of older urban women, resources of equipment is limited.

For years, Kentucky State University Cooperative Extension has provided assistance to this and other urban and community gardens.  In the past, that has included the use of walk behind tractors with rotary tillage attachments, privately owned walk behind and tractor mounted tillers provided by extension professionals as well as larger more specialized equipment such as plastic layers and mid size tractors made available through particular extension offices.  This year, social distancing and field staff restructuring has left some constituents looking for alternative means of planting the crops so vital to their unique communities.  Remote efforts have been made in the form of internet research, email correspondence, one on one phone calls and even conference calls with farm supply vendors, garden organizers and this extension associate.  

Working within a provided budget, walk behind rear tine tillers were assessed and ranked to select the model that best fulfilled the needs of this 501C3 organization.  This information was relayed to the urban farmer along with potential vendors.  Efforts were made to secure a local source to keep with the theme of growing, selling and buying locally.  Creative measures were taken to locate the desired piece of equipment while protecting the health of the garden organizer who falls within the high risk category of susceptibility to the Covid 19 coronavirus.  A conference call was initiated in he parking lot of the vendor between the farmer, a sales associate and this extension associate who specializes in food security initiatives.  Photos of available models were texted and virtual interaction ensued.  Ultimately, it was determined the needed model was available at a couple of nearby chain locations.  A call to the nearest of these confirmed the new-in-crate tiller at that store was on clearance for over 22% off MSRP saving the limited resource minority farmer over $200.  This is one more example of thinking out of the box to meet the needs of unique 1890 Land Grant university clientele.