Progress 09/30/22 to 09/29/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Target Audience by Objective Objective 1 - Extension Administration, Faculty, Agents and General Public Objective 2- Extension Agents, Faculty and Agricultural Producers Objective 3-Extension Agents, Faculty and Agricultural Producers Objective 4- Extension Agents, Faculty and General Public (Adults and Youth) Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Significant opportunities for Extension Agent professional development were identified and addressed. 24 Extension agents were consulted and engaged in the creation of a regional needs assessment. Ten volunteers registered for the regional Mental Health First Aid training. All ten completed the certification from the National Mental Health Council. Each of the participants are Family Resource/Youth Service Center Directors. They have an average of 200 families they work with monthly, so the possible reach is 2000 families. Meetings were held with county-based Extension Agriculture and Natural Resource agents to discuss and plan educational programs to assist beef cattle producers in the region. Additionally, discussions were held on the needs of those in the local community who owned cattle to help them be able to get back on their feet to manage their livestock and prevent health-related losses. These meetings lead to agent and producer training opportunities to address beef herd health issues related to flooding. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Objective 1. Needs Assessment The needs assessment has been shared with over 400 Extension agents, administrators, and community leaders during regional Disaster Preparedness Training in September and October 2023. Additional presentations are scheduled with Extension administration in December 2023. Objective 2.Hoop Structures as Barn Alternative 40 producers were educated regarding the opportunities and advantages that hoop barn structures offer farmers with storm-damaged facilities. Objective 3-Chute-side beef quality assurance training and preventative healthcare As part of the training mentioned above, producers were shown the portable cattle chute-tub-alley system available for them to check out for processing their cattle.Producers then participated in a classroom session in which Dr. Michelle Arnold, University of Kentucky Extension Ruminant Veterinarian, shared with producers post-flood health concerns and preventions.Dr. Jimmy Henning, Extension forage specialist, discussedfactors that should be considered when renovating fields. A local equipment dealer also shared information on the proper use of seeders for increasing the odds of successful establishment. The area received a generous donation of seed to help producers recover from the flood and the program provided information to best capitalize on the gift. This tied in well with the purchase of the no-till seed drill through the grant that producers can now check out from the Robinson Center for Appalachian Sustainability (RCARS). The third program was offered the first week of May. Knowing the risk of disease exposure for clostridial organisms due to the floods from the previous program and the need for proper administration of vaccines to prevent diseases, the program included a chute-side Beef Quality & Care Assurance certification training. Kevin Laurent, the University of Kentucky beef specialist, shared with producers proper handling, needle selection, site of injection, and other factors to improve vaccine efficacy. We teamed up with the Kentucky Cattlemen's Association and offered the BQCA training and registration at no cost to the participants. The BQCA certification is required by the state to access the County Agriculture Investment Program which provides cost-share funds for the farming community. We also distributed the 1,000 doses of clostridial vaccines that were acquired as a result of our reaching out to a pharmaceutical company. Additionally, those who hadn't received a preventative health kit were provided with a kit. Dr. Lehmkuhler discussed the management of beef cattle in the hoop structure. Cattle had been procured from a local auction facility and participants learned about backgrounding calves in this housing system. Dr. Lehmkuhler discussed the use of limiters in free-choice feeders and how they can reduce the labor needs for those with full-time employment off the farm. Objective 4. Mental Health First Aid Both adult and youth versions of Mental Health First Aid Training were provided to impacted communities. During the adult participant workshop, participants were taught the MHFA action plan: Assess for risk of suicide or harm Listen non-judgmentally Give reassurance and information Encourage appropriate professional help Encourage self-help and other support strategies During the youth certification,Agents were asked to meet with their respective advisory councils to discuss hosting Mental Health First Aid (Youth Focus) sessions for any volunteers/educators in the 4-H Program. All county councils were in support. All adults who participated were certified by the National Mental Health Council.The curriculum is geared toward adults who work with youth ages 12-25. 80 % scored a perfect score on the exit exam and 20% scored 90% on the exit exam. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Objective 1 - The Community Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky completed a comprehensive assessment of Extension's response to catastrophic flooding in Eastern Kentucky in July 2022. Utilizing Extension agent focus groups and interviews with community partners. The following questions were used for this investigation: •In what ways was Extension called upon to respond at the time of/immediately following the disaster? •Looking over the topics list, in what ways could the University or Extension be more helpful today in recovery efforts? •In what ways should the University and Extension be involved in long-term recovery and preparation? Objective 2-Hoop Structures as Barn Alternative - Forty individuals were in attendance and post-program evaluations were completed by 28. A Likert scale was used to assess impact. Of those who filled out the evaluation, 93% indicated the information shared on the application of hoop structures for rapid reconstruction of livestock housing was very useful. Objective 3-Chute-side beef quality assurance training and preventative healthcare Forty individuals were in attendance and post-program evaluations were completed by 28. A Likert scale was used to assess impact. Of those who filled out the evaluation, 93% indicated that the information shared on preventative health care management and potential disease concerns was very useful. 100% indicated the preventative herd health kits provided would be very useful. 64% indicated that having access to the portable cattle working facility would be Very Useful and another 21% said it would be somewhat useful while 14% were uncertain. When asked if a no-till drill for re-establishing fields would be useful, 89% indicated YES, and 7% were uncertain. Lastly, participants were asked what beef-related topics they wished to learn more about. Vaccination programs, reseeding fields, hay/haylage production, frost seeding clovers, no-till seed drill demonstration, Beef Quality and care Assurance training, pregnancy diagnosis, feed rations, youth programs, and marketing advantage of on-farm livestock were shared. Objective 4 -Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Youth Programming - Ten volunteers registered for the regional training. All ten completed the certification from the National Mental Health Council. The training includes two hours of pre-work online and six hours of in-person training for a total of eight hours of training per person. The curriculum is geared toward adults who work with youth ages 12-25. 80 % scored a perfect score on the exit exam and 20% scored 90% on the exit exam. Each of the participants are Family Resource or Youth Service Center Directors. They have an average of 200 families they work with monthly, so the possible reach is 2000 families.Each participant created a local resource guide with professional, community, and self-help resources for the families they work with.As an additional follow-up, Dr. Stamper supplied each of the four counties with educational support materials from the National Alliance on Mental Illness and will provide additional support as needed/requested.
Publications
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