The Kentucky Department of Agriculture is utilizing a $100,000 grant this summer to better educate school food service directors across the state about buying from local farmers.  Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner, Ryan Quarles, discusses what they are teaching food service directors and how Kentucky farmers working to supply their demands.

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The Kentucky Farm Service Agency is continuing to serve farmers across the state with fewer employees as they await the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill.  New Kentucky Farm Service Agency Director Brian Lacefield, who was appointed by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in October, discusses his first eight months on the job, Kentucky staffing, the dairy support program and what is on the minds of farmers.

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Nineteen Kentucky dairy farmers and more than 100 in the region, who sold milk to Dean Foods, had their contracts terminated June 1.  Among those were Curtis and Carilynn Coombs, who own and operated Jericho Acres in Smithfield, Kentucky.  Carilynn talks about the options they faced and what they are looking at for the future of their farm.

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The Hancock County Farm Bureau recently partnered with the U.K. Extension Service to host a seminar aimed at reducing stress on the farm and preventing farmer suicides.  Hancock County Farm Bureau President Joe Hagman discusses stress on the farm, his farming operation, how he handles stress and the joy he receives from still working on the farm each day.

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The University of Kentucky College of Agriculture will host the annual Corn, Tobacco and Soybean Field Day on Tuesday, July 24, at the Research and Education Center in Princeton.  Grains Center of Excellence Director, Dr. Chad Lee, previews the field day, the researches that will be presenting and the topics they will cover.

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Of all the lessons I learned from my parents, the most important was recognizing the value in being kind to others 

There is a kind of satisfaction that is like no other when we look out over a tall corn field or a flourishing soybean crop; when we see healthy calves growing strong and tobacco leaves waving in the breeze; when we smell a freshly cut hay field and experience a summer sunset over rolling pastures.

CBOT futures ended the day from several cents lower in wheat to several cents higher in soybeans, with corn closing flat. Futures were pressured overnight but short-covering in soybeans helped corn test the upper end of its range.  Cattle futures opened higher and closed even higher in the upper part of the trading range.