ASHS 2024 Conference

The Center for Sustainability of Farms and Families: Impacts of The Small Scale Farm Grant on Local Foods in Kentucky. JONI NELSON*, MATTHEW BEHRENDS, ALLISON NOEL, and KIRK W. POMPER. College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources Cooperative Extension Program, Kentucky State University, Frankfort, KY 40601 Kentucky State University’s Small Farm Grant Program managed through the Center for Sustainability of Farms and Families supports new economic opportunities for limited resource farmers with funding from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board and the USDA-NIFA capacity building grant “Extension Approaches to Support Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Producers”. The Small Farm Grant Program, which began in 2012, has awarded more than $8.5 million through 1,976 applications to farmers from 114 Kentucky counties. This funding has been distributed through mini-grants for categories including Value-Added, Organic, Aquaculture, Food Insecure, and Agroforestry projects. New categories added in 2024 including Food Systems Resiliency and Emerging Agricultural Technologies have been added in addition to a beginning beekeeper program in our ongoing efforts to address the diverse needs of Kentucky producers. These new categories support the efforts of producers to implement innovative practices or technologies that enhance sustainability and resource efficiency on the farm. Program funding supports a wide range of needs such as mobile freezer units, pond aerators, canning equipment for fruits and vegetables, tractor implements to support organic crop integrity, goat cheese and soap making equipment, root cellars, equipment for food banks and farmers markets, agroforestry practices, and numerous others. This program has also assisted many new farmers with entering local markets and education toward production methods as well as aiding their efforts to support local economies and cooperative networks.