I have always made an effort to provide timely market information to cattle producers in Kentucky. They have always had good access to market data, but not necessarily to market analysis and commentary specific to Kentucky. For this reason, I have written a monthly Kentucky Market Update for the Off-the-Hoof Newsletter for many years. In the spring of 2020, I began writing a weekly market update for ANR agents and Kentucky cattle producers that I sent out each Friday morning. The markets were changing very quickly due to COVID and I wanted my clientele to know that I was continuing to work for them, even though I was not able to be with them in person. 

The opportunity costs of writing this weekly update were relatively high, especially as extension programming picked back up in the fall of 2020 and I was back in an undergraduate classroom. But I did get a very good response from agents and producers from putting something out each week. So, in the fall of 2020, I began partnering with colleagues at Mississippi State University and the University of Arkansas on Cattle Market Notes Weekly. This is a weekly market update / newsletter that we write on a rotating basis. By working with them, I write a cattle market article every three weeks, but our clientele receive an article on a weekly basis.  As of summer 2021, this newsletter went directly to 660 individual emails each week. Since this newsletter goes to several list serves, and is forwarded by several individuals to numerous others, total reach each week typically runs between 1,100 and 1,200. The reach of this update should continue to grow over time as we continue to promote the effort.