News

Takeaways from the NUEL Regional Conference Lessons from the 2025 National Urban Extension Leaders Conference

At the beginning of May, I attended the 2025 National Urban Extension Leaders Regional Conference in Durham, North Carolina. Collaboration lies at the heart of all extension work – urban and rural. At NUEL, I heard repeatedly about the impact of mutually beneficial partnerships, fostering connections, and relationship building. Here are takeaways from the NUEL Conference, specifically for folks like me (aka Extension-based Technical Assistance Providers). 

Expanding Dairy Systems: Oregon Field Study Check out this article for some helpful marketing tips!

In April, Camille Stevens visited Oregon with a few members of the Southeast Dairy Business Innovative Initiative team. While in Oregon, she attended the Oregon Dairy Industries conference and visited different farms to learn about the market opportunities and challenges they face. One of the main takeaways from the ODI conference was the idea of promoting the health and wellness of dairy products.    

A Collection of Marketing Tips for Farmers Market Vendors Check out these linked resources on various farmers market marketing tips!

With Farmers Market season in full swing, we wanted to quickly highlight some existing resources for you to use when you are thinking about elevating your presence at the farmers market. Resources are broken down into various categories.

Drip Irrigation & Why You Need It Deliver water and nutrients right to the root zone.

Let’s Talk Irrigation (Yes, Really)  Look, I know irrigation is literally the last thing any of us want to hear about right now, especially considering the recent weather. But if there’s one thing I know about Kentucky weather, it’s that no two weeks are ever the same. Flooding this week? That could easily turn into two months of no rain. 

Key Takeaways from the Dairy Products, Process & Packaging Innovation Conference The dairy industry is changing, are you ready for what it's about to bring?

In this article, Camille discuss lessons learned and innovations that are coming for the Kentucky dairy industry.

Are you ready for the Farmers Market? 5 tips to make sure you are prepared before your market opens this year

In this article, Camille and Emily walk through 5 things you need to consider as we gear up for Farmers Market season this year. There are many linked resources in here to set you up for success this year.

Do You Need PBPT for the Upcoming Season? Produce Best Practices Training for safe food handling

The Produce Best Practices Training (PBPT) is a Kentucky-specific training and is currently voluntary. Although, some markets and wholesale buyers may require PBPT as an added layer of confidence to know the growers they work with have been trained in safe food handling procedures.

Agritourism Trends to Pay Attention To in 2025 Lessons from the International Agritourism Conference

Last month, I attended the NAFDMA conference, which is the international agritourism association. I took note throughout the conference on themes that emerged over and over to try to get a better understanding of what the major trends in agritourism are today. Here's a list of 5 things that I learned, in no order of importance.

UK Plant Pathology Extension Seeks Information on Watermelon Anthracnose

CSA Week Provides CSA Marketing Resources to Farmers

Kentucky Proud CSA Week and National CSA Week are here! Celebrate CSAs and sign up for a CSA near you February 16-22.