Success StoryHenderson Settlement



Henderson Settlement

Author: Stacy White

Planning Unit: Whitley County CES

Major Program: Sustainable Agriculture

Plan of Work: Effective Resource Management

Outcome: Long-Term Outcome

Founded in 1925, Henderson Settlement is a Methodist mission in Frakes, KY.  The goal of the mission is to offer Christ centered service to the residents of Frakes and surrounding communities in both Kentucky and Tennessee;  communities that are economically depressed and afflicted with many of the social maladies common in today's world.  Areas of impact include work camp, community outreach, agriculture, and crafts/thrift store. The mission manages approximately 1,600 acres of land situated in Bell and Whitley Counties.  The ANR agent works with the mission's agriculture program which includes a beef cattle operation, commercial greenhouses, and a Grow Appalachia program.  Over the last 3+ years the beef operation has seen significant improvements in forages and infrastructure due in large part to cost share projects implemented through the Natural Resources Conservation Service and in conjunction with the Bell Co. Farm Bureau.  These projects came together due largely to the influence of the ANR agent. The improvements in the greenhouse operation are even more dramatic.  Four greenhouses and one seasonal high tunnel have gone from a financial drain on the mission to a financial gain.  This is due to better management principles being implemented which the ANR agent has encouraged.  The mission facilitates a Grow Appalachia program in conjunction with Berea College.  There are currently 26 participants enrolled.  The ANR agent regularly teaches sessions on home gardening as part of the educational component of this program.  The changes that have taken place over the last several years have made Henderson Setttlement's mission much more sustainable as it approaches it's 100th anniversary of community service.






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