Kentucky Cooperative Extension System Training Project

Kentucky Cooperative Extension System Training Project

Summary

Objectives
1. To educate 1862 and 1890 extension professionals and paraprofessionals about sustainable agriculture.
2.) To educate 1862 and 1890 extension professionals and paraprofessionals about practical uses of organic agriculture.
3.) To educate farmer leaders (members of the Kentucky Agricultural Advancement Council and Area Agricultural Advancement Councils), NRCS and agency employees and farmers about sustainable agriculture and organic agriculture and the need for leaders to share this information throughout their local communities.

Approach
The Kentucky Cooperative Extension System Training Project has successfully developed multidisciplinary teams of farmers, 1890 and 1862 Extension and Research professionals and paraprofessionals, NRCS and other USDA agency professionals and technicians, Kentucky Department of Agriculture and other state agency staff, state and private universities and colleges, Heifer Project, Intl., agribusinessmen, consumer advocates and veterinarians to address sustainable agriculture issues in Kentucky. Nearly 85 people regularly attend the monthly workshops with over 1,200 farmers and over 250 agricultural professionals attending throughout the period.

Many participants regularly commute for three to four hours to attend, many adjust work schedules, and all discuss shared learning experiences. Participants have attended from coast to coast in the U.S. and Europe. Enthusiasm is high as participants look forward to the next Third Thursday.

Topics covered have included many subjects and subject areas. Marketing and economics topics have included direct marketing, livestock and grain marketing, farm planning and farm records, certified kitchens, alternative marketing methods, advertising, consumer marketing, USDA programs including FSA, RD, Crop Insurance, and NRCS. Organic, alternative, and traditional methods of sustainable production of grain, tobacco, vegetables, fruits and nuts, livestock, poultry, aquaculture, bees, ostriches and alternative animals, pawpaws, forages, herbs and beneficial insects have been studied. Production issues have included water quality, cover crops, soil quality and tilth, and environmentally friendly agricultural production. Socio?economic issues have included the special needs of small, minority and/or limited?resource farmers, as well as, the social and economic needs of farm families and family farm sustainability in a local, regional and global economy. The natural progression of the Kentucky State University Research Farm has provided an excellent site for the hands?on training.

Over 250 people attended the first statewide Stewardship Farming Field Day (September, 1997) at Kentucky State University. This expanded to over 450 people from four states and over 50 Kentucky counties attending the Small Farm Field Day (September, 1999), the second statewide field day sponsored through this project and hosted by Kentucky State University Land Grant Program which was held in conjunction with the proclamation of Kentucky Farm Safety Awareness Week. Nearly 50 sustainable agriculture topics were presented with five tracks during each of these statewide activities. The statewide field days showed strong multidisciplinary commitment between Kentucky’s 1890 and 1862 research and Extension efforts, farmers, agribusinessmen, SARE, USDA and state agencies, Langston University, Berea College, the MANNRS student organization, and consumer groups.

The sustainable agriculture training is showing impacts across Kentucky. Notable impacts and outcomes of the trainings to date show advances in the areas of sustainable agriculture, environmental awareness and protection, organic and alternative production methods, marketing, farmer cooperation, alternative meat marketing opportunities, and the development of multi?disciplinary teams to reach common goals. Additional states have enquired into the model program and Tennessee State University intends to start a similar workshop series in 2000. Several outcomes of the project are summarized below:

? Extension Agents and Small Farm Extension paraprofessionals indicate an increased knowledge of sustainable agriculture and sustainable production techniques. They indicate a heightened understanding and respect for organic and reduced input production techniques, and are better able to respond to marketing and production questions for these alternative production methods.
? The sustainable agriculture training sessions have included training on Kentucky’s legislated Water Quality Act which must be implemented by 2002. Of the 85 farmers who regularly attend the monthly field days, all indicate they have developed plans, or are currently developing plans.

? Following the statewide 1997 Stewardship Farming Field Day, five farmers constructed unheated greenhouses. They returned to teach three workshops to discuss their experiences and design modifications. All indicated they are expanding their unheated greenhouses. Several other farmers plan to expand their operations to include cold frames.

? The use of cover crops, compost, manure, legumes and green manures to increase soil nitrogen has been presented often. Over 30 farmers have implemented these systems on a few acres or rows of tomatoes.

? Through linkages developed during the sustainable agriculture training meetings, several farmers have developed equipment sharing cooperatives.

? Through linkages developed during the sustainable agriculture training meetings, the Partnership for Family Farms organization was formed. This coalition is working to resolve constraints to marketing alternative plant and animal farm products, particularly those associated with marketing pastured poultry, rabbits, organically grown and/or hormone free beef, sheep, and pork products, aquaculture, value?added products, and other direct marketed products or products that do not have traditional marketing systems in place. This organization includes partners from the University of Kentucky, Kentucky State University, KY Department for Agriculture, KY Health and Human Services, Berea College, Morehead State University, Heifer Project, Intl., farmers, and consumer groups. In 1999, Partners acquired a Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) marketing grant to upgrade existing custom processing plants to USDA standards and to construct a mobile processing unit for poultry. One custom processing plant was upgraded to USDA standards and will service farmers from a 100 mile radius to Cynthiana, KY ? over 100 farmers have indicated they will utilize this facility. A mobile processing unit was constructed via joint grants from KDA, Heifer Project, Intl., and SARE ? the unit is housed at the Kentucky State University Research Farm. This endeavor ties in closely with three other SARE projects which address pastured poultry and farm raised shrimp as viable farm enterprises. The mobile processing unit was used for one Third Thursday training session in 2000 and educational videotapes are currently being made (rough footage taped October?November, 2000) for training with the mobile processing unit. Upon final approval, some 100 farmers are expected to utilize the mobile processing unit.

? Ten farm families have developed a cooperative, similar to community supported agriculture, for marketing their organic vegetables. They have developed customers over a region of 70 miles. The initiative was started by two minority farm families who are regular participants in the Third Thursday Workshops. They incorporated their Third Thursday marketing training as they developed this cooperative effort, incorporated e?mail, FAX, and a website into the organization, developed a logo and signs for their cars and trucks, and purchased a van for product distribution.

? Following the February, 1999 workshop on farm records and USDA and state agencies, one woman who had been denied several loan applications for home repair by private banks (her roof was actually falling), referred to her workshop materials and filed a housing loan application with USDA Rural Development. She immediately qualified for, and received, a low interest housing loan to repair her house. Several other participants have filed applications for USDA services after learning the benefits of these agencies through the Third Thursdays.

? In January, 1999, Kentucky State University (KSU) sponsored a van to the Southern SAWG conference with two agents and seven farmers from the Third Thursday group. Several other Third Thursday regulars including agents, researchers, specialists, farmers, and farm publication editors also participated making our delegation nearly 20. In January, 2000, KSU sponsored three vans and the University of Kentucky sponsored one car to transport farmers and agents to Southern SAWG. Kentucky’s delegation numbered 40, all from our Third Thursday Sustainable Agriculture group.
Additionally, one Third Thursday regular attended the Southern SARE?PDP 2000 Workshop meeting as Kentucky’s representative farmer and is the designee for 2001. Because of this effort, Kentucky has consistently had the largest delegation to SAWG with a large contingency of minorities and women.

? Farmer leadership in the area of sustainable agriculture has improved significantly during this project. Of the 85 regular farmer participants,15?20 are minorities and over half are women. Over 70 of these farmers have participated in SAWG, the Southern Marketing Outreach Conference,the One Hundred Farmers Conference, the Kentucky Ministerial Institute, the SARE workshop, and other activities. They have spoken at Third Thursdays, local Extension meetings, 4?H clubs, worked with school projects, and have hosted field days. Fifteen are active leaders in their local farmer’s markets; several are active in Community Farm Alliance, Farm Bureau, Cattlemen’s Associations, Extension Boards and Advisory Groups, Southern SAWG, the Kentucky Women in Agriculture Committee, USDA county committees, and commodity organizations; three are on The Governor’s Commission for Family Farms; one was on the National Commission for Small Farms while six testified at the hearings; and one is on the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission.

? Agriculture professional leadership in the area of sustainable agriculture has improved significantly. Of the Third Thursday participants, several have attended SAWG, over 75 have taught workshops, and many have indicated more commitment to sustainable agriculture throughout their on?going programs.
? There is a heightened respect for interdisciplinary research and extension efforts in Kentucky. Along with this, is more inclusion of diverse groups into training workshops, program planning, and research design/planning.

There is more farmer input into research projects and more cooperation among the state universities and colleges and USDA and state agencies.