Last Friday and Saturday, the Whitley County Cooperative Extension Office in Goldbug once again hosted the Eastern Kentucky Small Farms Conference. This joint effort between Kentucky State University and the University of Kentucky offers farmers in our region a wide range of free educational opportunities, and it presents them with a chance to network with other professionals in a variety of ag-related fields.
I dropped in on the conference Friday afternoon, and not long after my arrival, event coordinator Laura Rogers introduced me to a couple of very nice folks who were there to promote the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Raising Hope program. I had never heard of the program, but I soon found out from Program Director Dale Dobson that not only does it help to raise awareness about farm safety, but there is also a very special component that deals with suicide prevention.
Now, this is what I really like about the Eastern Kentucky Small Farms Conference… You probably wouldn’t expect to hear about a topic like suicide prevention at an event such as this, but trust me when I say that the conference is as comprehensive as it can possibly get when it comes to addressing challenges that our agriculture professionals might face. And speaking of challenges, Dobson gifted me a challenge coin. Passing it to me via a firm handshake, the coin serves as a physical reminder that the recipient is appreciated and that they should not hesitate to seek help if they are ever feeling depressed or lonely, or if they are thinking about hurting themselves in any way.
I would encourage everyone to take the time to learn more about Raising Hope. You can do so by going online to www.kyagr.com/raisinghope, or you can search for the program on Facebook.
One of the main things that can lead to poor mental health in farmers is the constant financial stress that comes with staying on top of herds, crops, and all of the equipment that is needed to get the job done. It’s a lot, and it costs a lot to maintain. For this reason, many farmers will need to look into loan or grant opportunities to ease some of that financial burden.
With that in mind, I sat in on a presentation by Sandi Curd with the Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation (KHIC) in order to learn a little bit about some of the programs that they have available to those in the ag sector. I have heard Curd speak several times in the past, and I have found that she is always full of great information. This occasion was no different.
Curd informed those in attendance about Kentucky Highlands’ SOAR Small Production Loan Fund. Partnering with Grow Appalachia (of Berea College) and thanks to funding from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund, this small production loan program is available to farmers who could use some help with developing production systems and marketing their products, among other needs.
Just about all food-related producers are eligible to participate in this program, which Curd said will typically offer up to $7,500 at a fixed interest rate of 1 percent. To get more info, reach out to the KHIC by calling (606) 864-5175.
• Another exciting thing that I got to do last week was deliver one of our old paper racks from here at the office over to the Corbin School of Innovation, where four young student-journalists will be refurbishing it so that they can use it to distribute copies of their newsletter – SOI Sauce.
The SOI Sauce student newsletter has published two editions so far this year, with the next edition going to print very soon. This is all done in-house at the School of Innovation, and issues include things like book reviews, coverage of various student activities, and advertisements from local businesses that newsletter staff members have gone out and sold themselves.
The old rack that I took over to the school was damaged in one of the recent wind storms that blew through our area in recent weeks. It wasn’t really fixable, so when I learned about the efforts of the students on the SOI Sauce staff I thought that it might make for a good project for them. They can clean it up, give it an all-new look, and then place it somewhere so that folks passing by can just open it up and take one of the free newsletters.
Sponsors Rachel Johnson and Loren Queener spoke to me at-length about how SOI Sauce came to be when I dropped off the rack, and they also informed me about several other exciting developments currently taking place at the Corbin School of Innovation. Among those developments is the upcoming Maker’s Market event, which is scheduled to take place on Friday, May 16, at the Farmer’s Market Pavilion in downtown Corbin beginning at 4:30 p.m. If you’re able, come to this event to see all kinds of cool creations made by the School of Innovation students themselves.
Best of luck to Lucy Herren, Abi Cockerham, Beka Queener and Delilah Watkins on their future newsletters, and I look forward to seeing what you all do with the rack!
Finally, before I wrap this up I would like to once again thank Jay Nolan, president of Nolan Group Media, for inviting me up to J. Frank Publishing in London last week and allowing me to lend a hand with conducting some interviews with local elected officials concerning the recently completed 2025 legislative session. If those videos haven’t been distributed on social media by the time this newspaper hits shelves, they will be soon.
