Maps help us navigate the world, and they not only show us how to get from point A to point B, but, depending on the type of map, they can also help us to see where patterns, clusters, and gaps exist in a spatial environment. As part of KCARD’s state-wide Local Food System Expansion Initiative, a series of interactive maps has been developed to visualize the Kentucky local food system. Stay tuned for parts two and three of the series in the next few weeks. We will present a closer look into local food sales in Kentucky and the various industries that make up the local food system.
In October and November, KCARD hosted a 6-week webinar series to help people work on their business and figure out what funding resources are out there that are good fits. Below are our top 5 takeaways from the series.
KCARD works with a lot of farmers and business owners. Some are happy with their business, some are happy with their personal life, but the ones that are happiest with both aspects have found a way to align their personal goals with the goals that they have for the business. Sometimes, that means stepping back from their business and acknowledging that the plans that they once had for the business no longer match their current lives.
Holidays are a time of fun, festivities, and feasting. Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing some of KCARD’s team members favorite family recipes to make around the holidays. This week, we are highlighting Olivia’s Swedish Tea Ring, which has been passed down from her great-aunt to her grandmother to her aunt and mother and now her.
Keeping records is VITAL to your business. It helps you measure your growth (or decline), see what is costing you the most, and give you an idea of how much money you have at a given time. A business owner must think about how they can best keep records to ensure the system will be useful. We’ve listed three types of systems you can choose from or blend together.
In September, KCARD and program partners were awarded a grant for the Connecting Kentucky Veterans to Agriculture Opportunities (Kentucky AgVets) program. Main program partners include the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Horticulture Council, Kentucky Sheep and Goat Development Office and the Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky (CEDIK).
In the last 20 years, several states, including Kentucky, have passed statutes that have created a new cooperative business structure, the limited cooperative association (LCA) that is a hybrid of a traditional cooperative and a limited liability company (LLCs).
The Cooperative Extension Service is a fantastic resource in Kentucky. In this guest post by Dr. Les Anderson, he discusses a new series of videos released on YouTube to help people who are new to farming and the role of the extension service in serving new farmers and new landowners.
A Direct Marketing Sheep & Goat Webinar Series will be presented on the evenings of November 17, 18, and 19 to help producers interested in selling lamb, goat, and fiber products with production practices, processing, and sales and marketing questions. The webinar is being co-hosted by the Kentucky Sheep & Goat Development Office and the Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (KCARD).
Haleigh Young, KCARD’s administrative assistant, fields tons of questions every day from other KCARD staff and new KCARD clients. She recently took some time to answer a few questions about herself and how new clients and inquiries begin working with KCARD.
Cooperatives exist in every sector of the economy, and cooperatives range from very small, local businesses to large multi-national corporations. Cooperatives can be classified by their primary business activity. Co-ops are often categorized as marketing, supply (or purchasing), consumer, service, and worker.
The Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development is a non-profit organization established to facilitate agricultural and rural businesses in Kentucky. We are supported primarily through grants provided by the USDA Rural Cooperative Development Program and the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board. Additional support is provided through our work with partners around the state and through fees charged for select client services.
