Author: Dee Heimgartner
Planning Unit: Crittenden County CES
Major Program: Agriculture and Extension Leadership Development
Plan of Work: Increasing Knowledge in Agriculture, Home and Community Environment
Outcome: Initial Outcome
According to Census data less than two percent of the US population are farmers and ranchers. Most of the population are two or more generations removed from the farm. Even though Crittenden County is considered a rural community, many community members are not aware of where their food comes from. To address the issue of bringing awareness to the importance of agriculture, Crittenden County Extension participated in events during National Ag Week.
Facebook posts on ag statistics were made daily during the week. Some of the statistics were for Crittenden County specifically. These stats came from National Ag Statistics Service and the Ag Census. One post on how many farms and acres of farmland there are in the county, had comments like "That's a lot." The posts had a total number of people reached just under 3,000 people.
A "Pizza Night" was organized with a partnership between Crittenden Extension, Crittenden County Schools, Family Resource Youth Service (FRYSC) and 21st Century. The night was a grab bag style drive through. FRYSC provided the materials for each family to make their own pizzas, including sauce, cheese, peppers and pizza crust kit. Crittenden Extension provided the seeds for each bag so the families could grow their own pizza garden with seeds for tomatoes, peppers, basil and other herbs. Information on agriculture and farming was provided through a partnership with the Kentucky Soybean Board.
The final event was a display at the local grocery featuring the importance of bees and pollinators. A display with facts about pollinators was stationed by the entrance. Pictures of a bee with a UK logo and the word "pollinated by bees" were put next to several items in the grocery. The items all require bees to pollinate the plant so the produce can grow and be made into the item at the grocery store.
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