OAK conference to feature regenerative farming,market opportunitiesBy Brooke Gentile, Executive Director, Organic Association of KentuckyFarmers, invited speakers, agricultural professionals and others will meet in Louisville to share production strategies intended to reduce agricultural inputs, improve soil health, increase profits and expand market opportunities at the Organic Association of Kentucky’s 9th

annual conference March 6th-7th.

More than 50 workshops will feature over 70 local and national speakers who will address issues such as produce production and weed management, agroforestry, regenerative livestock systems, no-till market gardening, large-scale organic grain production and more. New this year is a track on urban agriculture and food sys-tems.

In addition:• Keynote speakers are Ira Wallace, this year’s winner of “organic educator of the year” from the Organic Educators School, and Jean-Paul Stewart-Courtens, co-owner of the 375-acre Roxbury Farm and associate director of farmer training at Hudson Valley Farm Hub. • 3-hour short courses feature intensive learning on subjects includ-ing managing multi-species for profit, organic hemp production, high tunnels, scaling up CSA, crop planning and soil building.• Topics in general sessions include agroforestry, farmscaping for pollinators, mushroom cultivation, cut flower production, crop in-surance, no-till, permaculture, organic fruit, organic livestock, val-ue-added, business planning and more.• A two-day trade show with 40-plus vendors, organizations, lend-

What’s insideLocal Foods Summit ......... 2Eastern KY Conference ..... 3

Coming upFeb. 1 - Kentucky Maple Day. For details, see Page 4.

Feb. 11-13 - Indiana Hort Conference, Indianapolis. For details, click here.

Feb. 12 - Got Farm Records ... Now What? workshop, Shelby County Extension Office, Shelbyville, KY. For more information, click here.

Feb. 13-15 - Ohio Ecologi-cal Food and Farm Associa-tion Conference, Dayton. For details, click here.

Feb. 19-22 - West Virginia Small Farm Conference, Charleston. For more infor-mation, click here.

Feb. 20 - Third Thursday Thing, Organics. Harold R. Benson Research and Dem-onstration Farm, Frankfort, KY. For details, click here.

Feb. 20-22 - PickTN Con-ference, Franklin, TN. For details, click here.

January 2020Brett Wolff, EditorChristy Cassady, Editor/Designer

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Cooperative Extension Service University of KentuckyDepartment of HorticultureN-318 Agricultural Science CenterLexington KY 40546-0091(859) 257-1477Fax: (859) 257-2859extension.ca.uky.edu

Educational programs of Kentucky Cooperative Extension serve all people regardless of economicor social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed,religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, maritalstatus, genetic information, age, veteran status, or physical or mental disability. University of Kentucky,Kentucky State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Kentucky Counties, Cooperating.

ers, and agricultural resources.• Four from-scratch meals made from certified or-ganic and local farm food.• Networking reception with author showcase and book fair.• “Meet the Buyers” session reveals markets for certified organic sustainable products.• Showing of the film “Pollinators.”• And much, much more. The conference will be at Marriott East, 1903 Em-bassy Square Boulevard, Louisville. Conference registration for the full two days includes meals, with one-day registration, student rates, and

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scholarships available and discounts for early reg-istration. For more information, including a full schedule and registration, go to https://www.oak-ky.org/2020-conference.

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From The Food Connection websiteThe Food Connection at the University of Ken-tucky, in partnership with Bluegrass Farm to Table and Kentucky Proud, invites you to the Kentucky Local Food Systems Summit. This day of work-shops, networking and conversation, scheduled for February 26th from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. EST, is designed to bring together food systems profes-sionals who work on the front lines of growing our local farm and food systems. The summit will be held at the University of Kentucky’s Gatton Student Center.

Our goal for the summit is to provide: (1) valuable connections with other food system leaders and practitioners, (2) innovative tools to approach lo-cal food system development, (3) an update on the latest research, and (4) spur new collaborations and initiatives. By bringing great minds together, we hope to foster a state-wide common vision through collaborative discussions and strategy development to ultimately promote a vibrant and sustainable food system in Kentucky.

For Cooperative Extension guests, this summit qualifies for KERS credits.

We promise an invigorating mix of research, pro-grams and tools, and facilitated conversations that will help us all move the needle toward our goals

of a healthy and vibrant farm and food system, in-cluding topics like: • Local Food 101: terms, stakeholders, and re-sources • Kentucky Kids in the Kitchen: Making the most of the Culinary Challenge • Farmers Market Innovations • Extending the Season, Expanding Markets • Chef Ambassador Training: Teaching others to cook • Two round table discussions on the current needs and opportunities facing Kentucky farmers and community food security

Registration is $75 and includes attendance, parking for off-campus guests, all day coffee, a locally sourced lunch, and networking reception attendance. For de-tails and to register, click here. Contact lilian.brislen@uky.edu to inquire about scholarship opportunities.

Interested in local foods? Don’t miss this summit

From the Kentucky Horticulture Council (KHC) websiteOpportunities for selling Kentucky-grown produce are increasing, and finding the best buyer match is important for a profitable relationship. For the last several years, KHC has been partnering with other organizations and agencies to host Grower-Buyer MeetUps across Kentucky. Annually, more than 30 buyers attend this event, representing businesses such as Creation Gardens, Kroger, Walmart, Houchens, AWG, Whole Foods, Good Foods Co-op, and other distributors who reach all levels of grocery outlets as well as restaurants and institutional buyers including local schools.

The 2020 MeetUp is co-hosted by the Kentucky Vegetable Growers Association, the Kentucky State Horticultural Society, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, and the Kentucky Horticulture Council. This year, we are partnering with the Eastern Kentucky Farmers Conference, with the MeetUp as a pre-conference event bringing produce buyers that

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include chefs, retail, and distribution representatives together in one location to make it easier for growers to make many contacts at once. You will have a chance to meet one-on-one in a “speed date” format to exchange contact information and match up products and needs with key buyers. Face-to-face meetings with experts in food safety, organic production, and marketing will also be available. Check-in starts at 8:30 a.m., with buyer introductions beginning at 9. Register here to let us know you are coming, and download the full agenda here.

Eastern KY Farmer Conference set for MoreheadFrom the Community Farm Alliance (CFA) websiteThe 4th Annual Eastern Kentucky Farmer Confer-ence will be held at the Morehead Conference Center, located at 111 East First Street, Morehead, KY 40351. The conference will begin on Friday, February 28th from noon to 6 p.m., with network-ing and entertainment to follow. The conference will continue on Saturday, February 29th from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

This year the conference will be accepting applica-tions for vendors to display their products or host demonstrations at the event. This is a way to en-gage attendees in your agriculture related prod-ucts and services. For more information, please contact Olivia Vogel at ovogel@kcard.info.

Lodging is available at the Best Western Eagle Inn and Comfort Inn & Suites. To reserve rooms, please contact the hotels directly, and mention the group name “Eastern Kentucky Farmer Confer-ence” when booking for a discounted rate.

Registration costs are $15 for Friday, $25 for Satur-day, or $35 for both days. Children ages 13-18 are

$10 and ages 5-12 are $5.

Registration includes meals both days. Local farmers and producers will be first priority when sourcing for meals. Please email nathan@cfaky.org if you have any dietary restrictions.

Pre-registration closes Saturday, February 22nd. Day-of registration will be available.

To register for the conference please click here. The 2020 conference agenda is available here.

If you are interested in keeping up with the confer-ence, please like our Facebook page for weekly updates, partner spotlights, and more. For specific questions, please contact Nathan Flynn at nathan@cfaky.org or CFA’s main office at 859-756-6378.

Grower-Buyer MeetUp to precede Eastern KY Farmer Conference

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RCARS workshop to featureblueberry production, pruningFrom the UK Horticulture RCARS Facebook page

A Blueberry Production and Pruning Workshop will be held on Saturday, February 15th, at the UK Robinson Center for Appalachian Resource Sustainability (RCARS) Community Building (Back St.) in Jackson, KY.

The event will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST. The schedule is:

10 – Registration, welcome and orientation10:05-11 – Blueberry production (site selection, soil testing, planting, variety selection, fertilization, irrigation, bird management)11-Noon – Insect, disease and weed management (common problems, chemical and cultural control, equipment)Noon-1 – Pruning demonstration in the field. Participants will see how to prune overgrown bushes and have the opportunity to prune if so desired.

The program agenda is approved for Kentucky Department of Agriculture Pesticide CEU credits as follows: 2 General and 1 Category Specific CEU for categories 1A (Ag Pest Control) and 10 (Research).

For more information, contact Shawn Wright at shawn.wright@uky.edu or 606-666-2438.

CCD resources updateNew pubs include peach budget, low tunnel fact sheetThe Center for Crop Diversification published a new resource in December, Peach Cost and Return Estimate Spreadsheet (CCD-BG-12), and its accompanying interactive spreadsheet (CCD-BG-13). A downloadable Excel file is accessible from the CCD budgets page at https://www.uky.edu/ccd/tools/budgets. A PDF version of the spreadsheet is available for growers who prefer to fill in the spreadsheet by hand. Another new CCD publication, Low Tunnel Economics (CCD-FS-12), has just been released. It summarizes important economic considerations when using low tunnels in vegetable and fruit production in Kentucky.

KY Maple Day will feature producers around the stateFrom the Kentucky Maple Syrup Association Facebook page and the UK Department of Forestry and Natural ResourcesThe Kentucky Maple Syrup Association (KMSA) and the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service have organized the first Kentucky Maple Day, which will take place on Saturday, February 1st around the Commonwealth. Kentucky has a growing maple syrup industry, and Kentucky Maple Day offers an excellent opportunity to visit a maple syrup operation and buy maple syrup and other products.

Times will vary by farm. A map of all Kentucky Maple Day locations is available at https://ky-maplesyrup.ca.uky.edu/ky-maple-day-locations.

For more information about Kentucky Maple Day and maple syrup production in Kentucky, listen to the From the Woods Kentucky podcast featuring UK extension forester Billy Thomas, extension agents Shad Baker (Letcher County) and Jeremy Williams (Harlan County), and Seth Long, president of the KMSA. Just a few years after its creation, the KMSA continues to grow and producers have added new technologies to improve efficiency and boost production. Check out this recent feature from the UK College of Ag on the upcoming Maple Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQkH-GdsdoA.

For more information about Kentucky Maple Day and participating producers, visit the KMSA Facebook page. For additional information about maple syrup production in Kentucky, go to https://forestry.ca.uky.edu/syrup.

Photo by Steve Patton, UK Ag Communications

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Thanks for reading!If you know someone who would enjoy our newsletter, or you’re not subscribed yet yourself, visit www.uky.edu/ccd/newsletter and click “Subscribe Now.” Or call Brett Wolff at 859-218-4384 , or Christy Cassady at 859-257-1477. Stay up to date with the Center on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ccduky/

Christy Cassady, Extension Specialist

Specialty Crop grant deadline Feb. 10From KCARDThe Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (KCARD) suggests growers investi-gate the following funding opportunity:

Kentucky Specialty Crop Block GrantDeadline: Feb. 10, 2020Eligible Entities: For profits, non-profits, education-al institutions, local governments, state governmentNote: KSCBGP will not award grant funds for proj-ects that solely benefit a particular commercial prod-uct or provide a profit to a single organization, insti-tution or individual. Funding Amount: Typically $20,000 - $60,000.Overview: The KY Department of Agriculture re-ceives grant funding from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service to enhance the competitiveness of Kentucky’s specialty crops - fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, nursery crops (including floriculture) and honey production. Eli-gible plants must be intensively cultivated and used by people for food, medicinal purposes, and/or aes-thetic gratification to be considered specialty crops.Link: https://www.kyagr.com/marketing/crop-block-grant.html

Questions? Please contact KCARD at 859-550-3972 or kcard@kcard.info.

2019 Fruit and Vegetable Research Report now available

The 2019 Fruit and Vegetable Annual Research Report (PR-762) is now available online at http://www2.ca.uky.edu/agcomm/pubs/PR/PR762/PR762.pdf.

Expected warmer than average start to February may not holdBy Joshua Knight, Senior Extension Associate, Horticulture

The National Weather Service’s Climate Predic-tion Center (https://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov) is forecasting above normal temperatures for the first week of February across the Commonwealth. This trend will give way into the second week as cooler weather pushes down into the northern Midwest. This cooler weather would arrive in the second half of the month.

On the precipitation front, the forecast is different. Above normal rates of precipitation are expect-ed in the second week of the month for most of Kentucky, but overall the forecast calls for normal rates of precipitation on average for February.

Department of HorticultureN-318 Agricultural Science CenterLexington, KY, 40546-0091