Kentucky has the fastest-growing Amish population in the U.S. According to the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, the population of Kentucky Amish grew by 8,740 people since 2010 and is currently 8th in population with approximately 13,595 Amish. Christian County and neighboring Todd County are two of the three most populated counties in Kentucky with a combined population of 2,700. 

Many Amish in these two counties, grow and sell vegetables and depend on these sales for their livelihood. Combined produce sales for the two counties exceed $4.7 million. Christian and Todd County also rank tops for dairy operations due to many Amish dairies still in operation with combined sales of $19 million. Tobacco has also grown in production (Christian County ranks first in the state). Combined sales in Christian and Todd Counties total $44 million.

However, Amish/Mennonite growers have limited access to phones and internet resources. It is a challenge for many growers to get timely information on plant diseases, insects, and control methods. To improve the dissemination of information, the Cooperative Extension Service in Christian County developed a newsletter specifically for this audience that shares information about produce, tobacco, and dairy (the three primary crops for Amish/Mennonite in the county).

Each month an 8-page AgMatters newsletter is mailed to 450 growers. And while it may seem a step backward to produce a paper copy newsletter when everything else is moving to digital formats, for its intended audience, it has proven to be a huge step forward in information-sharing. Growers have expressed appreciation for the newsletter. One large-scale retail supplier commented that he started carrying a new miticide for high tunnel tomato growers after he learned of its new supplemental label in the AgMatters Newsletter.