The Kentucky State University (KSU) Small Farm Program is an Extension program designed to help farm families with decision-making skills to solve farm and home problems. It includes educational programs that emphasize farm production, farm management, and marketing.  It also includes the use and understanding of local county programs and USDA agencies and their programs, plus providing technical assistance in completing applications for the program and the entire application process.  The KSU Small Farm Program’s Area Agent for Small Farms works with small, limited-resource, and minority farmers, most of whom have not used Extension prior to his intervention.  He targets minority farmers, farmers who are new to Extension, or farmers who think that Extension is not for them.  First he has to gain their confidence.  Then he has to show them that he can help them to meet some of their needs.  

This is his experiences with two small farmers.

The Millers are vegetable farmers in Lincoln County, Kentucky.  First the small farmer Mrs. Miller contacted the Area Agent for Small Farms at Kentucky State University, on August 21, 2020 to requested assistance in reviewing their Kentucky State University Small-Scale Farm Grant application for a walk in commercial refrigerator cooling system for vegetables.

Mr. and Mrs. George Miller are third generation farmers.  They are raising their two daughters to be fourth generation farmers.  As limited resource farmers they were looking for ways to make the job easier.  After they reflected over last year sales.  They realized they were losing lots of vegetables throughout the growing season.  The reason they were losing so many vegetables is because they don’t have a cooling system.

The Lincoln County farmer market is open four days per week. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 8am to 3pm. The Millers also sell at their farm in the afternoon to keep from losing what we don’t sell at the market.  We are also losing sales at the market because we are late getting to the market because we pick the morning of market dates in order to keep everything fresh.  What we don’t sell on market day hopefully will not ruin by the next market day which is usually two days later. 

Then Miller’s submitted the Kentucky State University Small-Scale Farm Grant application on August 22, 2020.  The application was approved on October 23, 2020.  The total cost of the   Commercial Refrigerator cooling systems was $ 8,319 dollars, the Millers received grant funds in the amount of $5000 dollars from Kentucky State University, Small-Scale Farm Grant Program to purchase the Commercial Refrigerator cooling systems Storage for Vegetables.  

With this new Commercial Refrigerator cooling systems Storage, the Millers will be able to operate their farm independently and produce adequate income to service their debts, maintain their farming operations, and to supplement the family’s expendable income.