The month of March was mostly dedicated to assisting our local Farmers through an ice storm and flood Farm Relief Effort. This was coordinated with the Carter and Lawrence County agents and the Greenup County agent.

                During this effort, over $9,700 cash donations were raised, which were spent on purchasing fencing supplies. Donations of hay and fencing supplies were $15,995. The total amount donated, cash and supplies total $25,695.

                The materials that were bought or donated and given out to local farmers, with donations of hay and fencing coming in from as far away as Pennsylvania and Ohio and all across the state of Kentucky. At this point we have been able to assist 228 individual farmers.

                Each farmer was eligible to receive up to 2 large bales of hay AND either 1 roll of barbed wire and 12 - 6 or 6.5 ft. steel posts OR 1 roll of electric fence wire and 10 tread in posts.

                What precipitated this need in our 4 county area was 2 ice storms we had in February that brought down an untold number of trees, either uprooted or broken, and the flooding that was accentuated by the debris in the creeks from the ice storm tree damage.

                We started working on the relief effort on March 5 and are still receiving donations and passing out fencing, which was the biggest need by far for our farmers. The majority of the fencing was used to temporarily repair fences as trees were cut from them in order to again use the fields for pastures until more permanent fencing could be put in place.