The Mammoth Cave agriculture and horticulture agents collaborated to produce a Virtual Field Day in October of 2020. The agents in our ten county area worked as a team to develop educational farm tour videos of three very different operations across south-central Kentucky.  The concept was to simulate a traditional field day and reach a diverse audience.  

McKinney Farms in Butler Co. produces and sells 70 acres ear corn primarily to deer hunters, and is a great example of ag diversification. The Monroe Co. farm demonstrated strawberry production in a high tunnel.  The Simpson Co. farm highlighted the advantages of using a beef cattle feeding pad in high traffic areas to help manage mud problems in the winter.

The virtual field day was held using the Zoom platform on 10-27-2020 from 6:00 – 7:00 pm. After each farm tour segment was shown, the 112 attendees were able to ask questions of the presenters. The virtual field day was recorded, and has been uploaded to YouTube so it can be accessed by our clientele.  The strawberry segment has been requested by several Butler County Farmers.  

Extension agents developed the concept, identified the farms and filmed the segments, produced the finished farm tour segments, advertised and delivered the program.  Agents also worked with participants to insure that they could participate via zoom.  For several attendees and one of the farm tour host farms it was their first experience using zoom.  The KY Division of Conservation provided an interview for the feeding area segment.

People were able to participate remotely and still gain valuable knowledge. An electronic survey gathering software was utilized at the end of the program.  100% of the respondents to our survey indicated they learned something that will benefit them. Over 96% rated the virtual field day as an excellent program, and 28% indicated they will make a change to their farming operation. One attendee stated, “I work days and I really appreciate that the program was in the evening where I could watch it with my family and learn together.”   One Butler County producer was interested in the program, but does not use the computer.  He saw the event advertised in the Butler County Agriculture newsletter.  I worked with a family member who does use the computer to facilitate his participation in the field day.