I currently have a split multi-state extension appointment where 75% of my appointment is with the University of Kentucky and 25% of my time is with the University of Tennessee.  This split appointment has worked well for the last eighteen years to serve the dark tobacco growers of both states, as dark tobacco is a regional crop that is almost evenly split between the western areas of both states in a region between Nashville TN and Owensboro KY.  I have had a counterpart extension specialist that has served burley growers in central and eastern Tennessee.  However, that person left the University of Tennessee in late 2019, so in 2020 I have been trying to support burley growers in central and eastern Tennessee in addition to dark tobacco growers in western Tennessee and Kentucky.  The University of Tennessee plans to fill the burley tobacco specialist position by the end of 2020.