The most recent USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) information is predicting a possible record for soybean planting throughout the soybean-producing states. Kentucky producers are expected to plant a total of two million soybean acres, up 150,000 acres from 2021.
Read MoreIn the 60 years since the first commercial no-tillage planting in Christian County, the agricultural practice continues to improve soils and water quality on millions of acres across Kentucky, the United States and the world.
Read MoreFarming land his grandmother once owned, Fred L. Sipes says he’s a caretaker of a precious resource. Fred began growing 50 acres of burley tobacco, fresh out of high school in 1994. Even then, conservation was important to him. He knew consistent improvement and diversification would be critical to his farm’s survival.
Read MoreAs Barry Alexander drives a tractor across a soybean field on Cundiff Farms, his eyes are on a computer screen that shows his precise location, the speed of the tractor, exactly how much seed is being planted per acre and more. He can watch the screen closely because the tractor uses autosteer to move across the field in a straight line.
Read MoreSafe food begins with healthy animals and quality care. Animal well-being is our ethical responsibility and it’s a top focus every day on the farm.
Read MoreAs the Executive Director of the Kentucky Pork Producers Association, I work on behalf of all of Kentucky’s pork producing families. I work to ensure that pork production in Kentucky stays successful and sustainable.
Read MoreLearn about Coopman Farms, the last dairy in Ballard County.
Read MoreFischer lives with his wife, Barbara, in Daviess County and farms with his sons Brian and Jerry, along with the third generation which includes Robert and Jake. There, the Fischers grow soybeans and corn, with the younger Fischers also raising a tobacco crop.
Read MoreWhen farmers think of leaders in regenerative agriculture, they may not think of a farm tucked away in Carlisle County, Kentucky, or a family that has been tending the land since the Civil War. But after just a few minutes of visiting with Brad Reddick and his son, Joel, it’s easy to see that these men eat, sleep, and breathe soil health.
Read MoreFarmers have utilized their offspring to carry out the work of their operations for generations. The large families of the past may have even come about, in part, because of the need for more help on the farm. But as times have changed, equipment and processes have gotten more efficient and streamlined, so more acres of row crops can be tended with fewer people.
Read MoreJames R. “Buddy” Smith has been farming in the Bluegrass Region for more than 50 years. He is the 2020 Kentucky Leopold Conservation Award winner.
Read MoreA land ethic was instilled in Mark Turner at a young age while helping his father on the family farm. When Mark took over Turner Farms, he saw the negative effects from the moldboard plow to the land. He decided to purchase a no-till drill in 1983. The farm now practices no-till and plants cover crops on every acre.
Read MoreNearly 1,330 acres of the property has a long history of logger choice harvest and occasional wildfire. This left mostly small-to-medium saw timber with a large percentage of low quality, less desirable species. The family has been working to improve timber quality through cull tree removal and mid-story removal for regeneration.
Read MoreAchieving soil health through the use of no-till farming and cover crops is nothing new to Edward (Myrel) Trunnell, who began farming more than six decades ago. Conservation is synonymous with his idea of farming.
Read MoreIn the five decades since he took the reins of his family farm, he has improved the health of thousands of highly-sensitive acres along the Green River. Successful farming and conservation along one of North America’s most ecologically-important river corridors required an ability to adapt, experiment and innovate.
Read MoreJerry and Valarie live and farm on the first piece of land they bought together in 1967. By purchasing other farms, their Springhill Farms operation has grown to nearly 1600 acres of cropland, with 200 additional acres of unplanted land, and 300 acres of rented farmland.
Read MoreTodd Clark is a first generation farmer in Lexington. He began helping a neighbor farmer as a young teenager and had his first tobacco crop at age 16. By the time Todd was 18, he was leasing a house and land and had branched out to cattle and hay operations.
Read MoreThe history of Old Homeplace Farm in southeastern Kentucky dates back to the mid 1800s. No written record exists of the family’s crops or livestock, but we imagine that it was like most other Kentucky farms of that period: highly diversified and remarkably self-sufficient.
Read MoreFarming and caring for the land has been the vocation and passion of the Halcomb Family for many generations. From settling of the Home Farm in the 1830s to the present day, each generation has embraced this opportunity and responsibility.
Read MoreTwenty year-old Allison Brockman is proud to have many titles in her life. Daughter, sister, aunt, farmer, college student, Kentucky Cattleman’s Association regional board member. Not listed is her most recent title – one she gave herself – and that is: chicken-tender.
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