In fall 2020, COVID-19 still had many restrictions, but this did not stop the Buffalo Trace agents from hosting the Farm School for Women program. We offered the program virtually through Zoom for four sessions and had 28 women signed up and participated. We wanted to provide an exciting program, but this is not an easy task as many programs are offered virtually. We based the sessions on 2019's survey that asked what type of workshops participants would like to see for 2020.

The first session covered mum production; we decided to make the program a virtual field day. The filming took place at Morgan County Extension Agent Sarah Fannins Market. We were able to go through the basics of starting mum production from marketing, site selection, mum systems, when to plant, media, insect control, fertilizing, watering, and general tips. We filmed two videos (15-20 minutes each) with the control environment specialist, Sarah, and the Mason County Horticulture agent. Each participant was given a mum and hand lens before the series started. During the program, we played the first recorded field tour then our disease specialist joined us to teach participants how to use a hand lens and look for diseases in their mum that was provided. The last part of the training was the second recording of the field tour, then the controlled environment and plant disease specialist answered questions. One participant said, "I already grow mums, but I plan to make my mum production better in 2021 and understand disease management better" Additionally, a second attendee mentioned planning to grow mums in 2021. Participants shared the information they learned with others resulting in a client who never used extension services asking extension for help with growing 1,000 mums and said he was referred to Cooperative Extension from someone who took the Farm School for Women series.  

The Second session covered land management, where participants learned strategies for improving livestock feeding and watering systems to promote healthier cattle and simpler, more efficient for the farmer. 60% of survey responses planned to make changes on my farm to improve my feeding systems after attending the Land Management session. The third session covered rotational grazing systems that taught what it took to set-up their operation to get the most forages. Grazing sticks were also provided, and clients learned how to use the tool to know when to rotate livestock to another pasture. One participant said, "I currently utilize rotational grazing; however, after attending the Grazing Systems session, I plan to make improvements." The last session covered livestock health and focused mainly on types of vaccines that livestock producers should use and have on hand at their operation. The speaker covered when and why certain vaccines should be used. While there are countless vaccines available, the speaker also covered how to choose which vaccines would be a good selection. 80 % of survey responses said they planned to improve their livestock health after attending the Livestock Health session.

Farm School for Women has been one of the most successful programs for Buffalo Trace horticulture & ag & natural resource agents. The program has been offered for years and is well attended every year, even during COVID-19. We continually see many participants join year after year as they are eager to learn new topics. One participant said, "Farm school for women has been very enriching to me.  I have kept better farm records, implemented rotational grazing, and gotten grants for material presented in the program. I have enjoyed seeing how others are doing by talking to the women.  The trips to the farms and other businesses have been rewarding." We are excited to see what 2021 holds for Farm School for Women as we continue to provide outstanding programming for our clientele.