Beginning farmers receive $500,000

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The U. S. Department of Agriculture awarded the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture a $561,000 grant for KyFarmStart, its comprehensive training program for beginning farmers and those who are considering going into farming.

More nationwide

The Kentucky award is part of more than $18 million in grants through the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program to programs in 24 states.

The Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program makes grants to organizations that implement education, training, technical assistance and outreach programs to help beginning farmers and ranchers, specifically those who have been working in the field for 10 or fewer years.

In transition

Lee Meyer, extension professor in UK’s Department of Agricultural Economics and the director of KyFarmStart, said Kentucky is in transition and its farm population, like that of the rest of the country, is aging.

Currently, 30 percent of principal operators of farms in the U.S. are 65 or older, while the average age of U.S. farmers climbed to 57 in 2007, according to the 2007 Census of Agriculture, a number that closely reflects the average age of Kentucky farmers. Only 40 percent of Kentucky’s farmers farm full-time.

“To keep farming viable in the state, we have to be able to replace these people,” Meyer said. “KyFarmStart focuses on introducing interested people to the many aspects involved in farming and adding to the knowledge base of those who are already in the field.”

Expansion

With the new funds, program organizers will continue and expand the training program began three years ago.

While the University of Kentucky will continue to offer the original curriculum that includes face-to-face educational meetings at county extension offices, on-farm demonstrations and the opportunity for mentoring by established producers, they will also offer a new, shortened “basics” curriculum for those who are exploring the idea of farming.