MURRAY, Ky. — Farmers and other agriculture professionals gathered Tuesday in Murray to learn how to expand their farm’s offerings at the free Planning for Farm Diversification Workshop at Murray State University’s William “Bill” Cherry Agricultural Exposition Center.
From across Kentucky, farmers gathered with the goal of learning business practices and marketing strategies to keep their farms profitable and sustainable. They learned ways to transition from traditional crops to different options like produce, proteins, and flowers.
One 28-year-old farmer, Jacob Mattingly, added chrysanthemums three years ago in an effort to diversify his fourth-generation family farm. His farm, J&H Mattingly Farm, is in Meade County, between Owensboro and Louisville.
Now, in an effort to expand from the beef cattle market to the equine market, Mattingly grows hay.
“Since we’re so close to Louisville and a lot of other stables in that area, we’re raising pure alfalfa, pure orchard grass, stands of hay to cater to those markets,” he said.
Mattingly hopes that diversifying his farm can cut costs and bring income from multiple sources.
“Going out and trying to get into a large scale row crop operation can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said. “Looking for ways to diversify our operation without having the huge capital cost is a big reason for us to diversify our farm, and continue to try and diversify our income streams.”
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Kentucky Horticulture Council, and Kentucky Farm Bureau were in attendance to provide information — Mattingly’s biggest takeaway from the workshop was the networking opportunities with the organizations.
“We can produce it, but how do we get those to the people that need it at a large scale?,” Mattingly said. “What we’re looking for is trying to find wholesale opportunities to where we’re not spending so much time marketing our product on Saturdays at the farmer’s market… We can focus on growing those products and getting them to the consumer as quick as possible through wholesale markets with these groups here.”
Kati Bowman with the Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development explained that many farmers are looking to pull their resources away from tobacco and put their efforts into a broader selection for consumers.
“A lot of tobacco farmers within this part of the state have lost contracts, or contracts have been cut significantly, and they want to keep their farm,” Bowman said. “So adding in vegetables, adding in fruit, adding in proteins, can keep that farm in the family, as well as expand their market reach and expand their customer base.”
Bowman said diversification is not just about less tobacco, but also about reaching more markets with money to spend on local foods.
“Folks are really wanting to expand their profiles,” she said. “There is more resources. There’s more local dollars within the local food system, and so we’re trying to bring more local food into Kentucky, as well as farmers are wanting to grow more produce and kind of diversify their markets, to keep that farm in the family and keep that farm vibrant.”
With the average age of farmers at 50, Bowman said a lot of farmers hope to create a legacy for younger generations, and said the resources at the workshop aim to reach those people.
“A lot of younger generations are looking at trades that they can go and do immediately out of high school, where they’re not spending a whole lot on college degrees, but they’re still being able to provide for their family, provide for their community, provide for themselves, and do the things that they love to do,” she said. “And there’s a lot of folks who love farming and love being active and getting active with their hands in the dirt.”
Connie Gray, a lifelong Trigg County farmer and the director of the MSU exposition center, expressed surprise at the number of presenters and attendees at the workshop. She said farming is more than what people see when they drive on a rural road.
Her hope for attendees was that they could network, learn from each other, and apply the techniques they learned from other farmers to their own operations.
She said it’s important for present-day farmers to learn how to diversify not just their farms, but their business habits as well.
“You got to know about the weather, you got to follow the stock markets,” Gray said. “You got to get into the computer stuff, as far as all the GPS units and the technology that’s driving agriculture today — that it’s just more than just driving a tractor. It’s quite unique and very much more complicated than people realize.”
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