This past Friday and Saturday the 4th Annual Eastern Kentucky Farmer Conference was held at the Morehead Convention Center in Morehead, KY. The conference this year comprised of about 50 attendees, 21 exhibitors, and 17 presenters. A technical assistance “ThinkTank” and an Eastern Kentucky Grower Buyer Meetup added to the conference this year, giving attendees the opportunity to not only network with other producers but also buyers, funders, and technical assistance providers. The conference offered 16 different sessions, including 4 short courses on Friday discussing topics such as high tunnel production, food safety regulations, business planning, and online marketing. Saturday included 12 different sessions on topics such as starting a CSA, no-till vegetable production, non-timber agroforestry, agritourism, and small fruit production.
“Bringing together resources, farmers, and technical assistance providers in one spot to focus on agriculture in Eastern Kentucky allows the region to continue to grow its economic opportunities,” stated Myrisa Christy, KCARD’s Eastern Kentucky Project Director. “With the addition of the ThinkTank and EKY Grower Buyer Meetup, our producers had the opportunity to not only grow their business by gaining new knowledge, but to connect with buyers to sell their products and resource providers for funding and business development assistance.”
Thank you to Farm Credit Mid-America for their sponsorship of this event. Also, a big thank you to our Conference Partners including Community Farm Alliance, Governor’s Office for Agricultural Policy, Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Kentucky State University, and University of Kentucky’s Center for Crop Diversification.
If you attended this year’s conference, we would love to hear from you! Please complete this short survey about your experiences and what you would like to see next year. Click here for the survey.