Author: Robert Pearce
Planning Unit: Plant and Soil Sciences
Major Program: Tobacco
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
US Tobacco GAP (Good Agricultural Practices) is an industry led program designed to insure that tobacco growers in the United States are well informed and follow the best practices for the production of all types of tobacco. Kentucky is the second leading producer of tobacco behind North Carolina, but has the most tobacco growers of any state due to the relatively smaller farm size. Tobacco growers are required to attend an annual training session conducted by Cooperative Extension Specialists. I have been conducting GAP training annually for the last 5 years and in this fiscal year conducted 18 GAP trainings for more than 1600 tobacco growers in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. During this reporting period the typical meeting schedule was shut down in March due to concerns over COVID-19. Working with other faculty, agents, and GAP Connections we were able to produce a video training for growers who still needed the training for their 2020 crop year. Not only does this service allow growers to meet industry requirements, it allows the opportunity to present new and improved practices that improve grower efficiency and/or productivity. Approximately 25% of growers attending these sessions report they plan to implement some aspect of the training in their operation.
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