Extension Programs
Our Extension Efforts
To meet the needs of our various stakeholder groups, our extension efforts include a wide range of focus areas and formats including in-person trainings and conferences, virtual conferences and webinars, and specialty programs in areas including small business development, specialty crops, community & economic development, tax education, and farm finance.
Lenders' Conferences
Each year we host 4 conferences for ag lenders throughout the state from December to February. Locations typically include Mayfield, Hopkinsville, Owensboro, and Lexington with faculty and staff covering timely topics specific to each region of the state and discussing upcoming and potential areas of concern with lenders to inform program offerings through our extension efforts.
Economic Subject Matter (ESM) Agent Training
Every winter, extension faculty and staff conduct all-day in-service trainings for county agriculture and natural resources (ANR) agents across the state. The purpose of the ESM trainings is to educate county agents on current economic issues, highlight new publications/tools that are available to them as they assist their clientele in the coming year, foster our relationships with agents and ask for feedback and recommendations on programming needs.
Beef Business Foundations Video Series
This video series focuses on the foundation skills and theory behind raising beef cattle and what new producers need to know before entering the business or for existing beef producers to consider to ensure success.
Backgrounding/Stocker Profitability Conference
The Backgrounding/Stocker Profitability Conference is a webinar series hosted over 3 nightly sessions focusing on key concepts for margin operations, budgeting for profit, and managing and protecting profits.
Cow-Calf Profitability Conference
Presented during one-day, intensive seminars, our Cow-Calf Profitability Conferences focus on key topics for beef products. Seminars are delivered by UK Agricultural Economics Extension through the Kentucky Beef Network funded by the Kentucky Agriculture Development Board.
Specialty Extension Programs
We have several specialty extension programs and units housed in our department that specialize in specific areas and needs across that state and produce educational resources and programming. In addition, we collaborate with several related programs and units in our college and across Kentucky.
Kentucky Farm Business Management (KFBM) Program
Serving the agricultural industry since 1962.
KFBM services include assisting member farmers track financial performance, determine the profitability of individual enterprises, improve management practices, complete tax returns, set business and personal goals, and make sound management decisions. Learn more.
Community & Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky (CEDIK)
Engaged Communities. Vibrant Economies.
CEDIK offers a suite of services for community and industry stakeholders needing research-based information. Our experienced research team is proficient with several proprietary data sources, methods of analysis, and GIS mapping capabilities.
CEDIK also facilitates programming and processes that support economic development, community leadership development, community design, arts engagement, and healthy communities. Learn more.
Kentucky Agricultural Leadership Program (KALP)
Tomorrow's Ag Leaders Start Here.
KALP is an intensive two-year program designed for young agricultural producers and agribusiness individuals who want to further develop their leadership skills.
The program consists of eleven sessions devoted to important/timely issues affecting agriculture and sessions focusing on improving participants' communication, leadership, and management skills.
291 participants over the course of eleven classes have graduated from KALP. Learn more.
MarketReady Producer Training Program
Get MarketReady.
Many farmers are hesitant, or unprepared, to meet the requirements that buyers from local restaurants, schools, and grocery/wholesale/retail businesses have for their suppliers. Buyers need their suppliers to manage their own food safety, insurance, product quality, traceability risks, and much more. MarketReady addresses these issues and seeks to educate our fabulous food suppliers about how to succeed in today's markets, in order to keep farming. The training is based around best business practices identified by buyers in these markets that are actively seeking to engage local suppliers. MarketReady will help farm vendors selling dairy, fruits, meats, vegetables, value added products, and more create a successful business strategy. Learn more.
University of Kentucky Income Tax Seminar Program
Continuing Education for Professional Tax Preparers.
The University of Kentucky Department of Agricultural Economics and the Cooperative Extension Service, in cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service and the Kentucky Department of Revenue, present a series of tax education seminars throughout the state. The seminars are designed to present updates for both federal and state tax preparation for tax professionals, enrolled agents, certified public accountants, certified financial planners, and attorneys.
Designed for professional tax preparers with at least one year of tax preparation experience, this is a two-day, intermediate seminar covering individual and small business issues, including the latest changes to both the Federal and State tax laws. Learn more.
Center for Crop Diversification
Learn. Grow. Profit.
The Center for Crop Diversification is a regional effort at the University of Kentucky to offer resources for specialty crop producers in the southeast and midwest United States. We offer price reports for farmers markets and produce auctions, publications on a wide variety of marketing channels and crops, budgets for small- and large-scale operations, and much more. Learn more.
