Kentucky commercial growers produce a wide range of specialty crops, such as vegetables and fruit. In 2017, cash receipts for fruit and vegetable production totaled $41.6 million (National Agriculture Statistics Service and Economic Research Commission). Direct sales make up a more than 50% of produce sales in the state (National Agriculture Statistics Service and Economic Research Commission), which allows for improved access to local foods. In addition, many home gardeners also grow their own fruit and vegetables for personal consumption. Both commercial and home growers of specialty crops can face many challenges that may limit produce yield and/or quality. Thus, there is a need for education about proper production practices and integrated pest management as a way for growers to continue to produce high quality specialty crops in the state of Kentucky. County Extension Agents frequently provide programs on these topics throughout the year in order to improve grower knowledge and skills.      

Due to the number of county programs provided on topics related to specialty crops production, University of Kentucky Extension Specialists are often called upon to provide numerous programs throughout the state. However, many county programs only achieve attendance of 10 individuals or less. Thus, as a way to educate producers about the various aspects of specialty crops production, while minimizing travel and the number of repetitive programs, a webinar series was developed by University of Kentucky Extension Specialists. During the months of September through December 2019, a one and a half hour program was provided two to three times a month on a specific specialty crop or production system. Specialist and selected County Extension Agents provided PowerPoint presentations via Zoom. County Extension Agents facilitated each session to local growers live. Agents were provided handouts and surveys for attendees in advance of each program. At the end of each session, agents were asked to provide the completed surveys back to specialists for analysis. Agents then received an analysis of the surveys for their county, which could be used for reporting and success stories. 

At the end of each session, agents were asked to complete a survey to provide feedback about the format of this webinar series and how it fit with county programing. Agent attendance and participation varied from session to session, with a total of 41 different county agents participating across all sessions. Forty nine percent of participating agents indicated that this new format of specialist-provided programs fits well with future programming for specialty crop growers. As a result of participating in this webinar series, agents anticipated implementing/conducting the following:

• hosting or presenting a similar program independent of specialist or with indirect specialist involvement (14%), 
• hosting and using a combination of self-presented and recorded versions of specialist presentations to provide a program independent of specialists or with indirect specialist involvement (21%), 
• repurposing this information to be used in newsletters, articles, and/or social media (28%), 
• using this information to improve ability to assist growers and answer grower questions (27%). 

The surveys found that 67% of agents definitely would or likely would develop independent county/district programs if provided with and trained on specialty crops program modules. Additionally, these webinars provided agents with the opportunity to increase their knowledge of specialty crops related topics. Surveys showed that agents had increases of between 28-58%, 9-63%, 16-36%, and 13-44% for topics included in the strawberry, high tunnel, tomato, and pumpkin webinars, respectively.      

This program format resulted in improved audience reach, while reducing travel costs and time for Specialists. Additional webinar series are being planned for 2020, and work to develop modules for agent use is currently underway.