Busy Busy Busy

Well I am actually currently on week 4 of my internship but I haven't had a chance to post. With farm visits and a district swine show there hasn't been much extra time. This is my second year as an extension intern so I jumped in full force this year.

Week 1- My first day on the job I learned more than I probably will the rest of the summer. We visited many tobacco float beds, which is something I am not very knowledgeable about but happy to learn. Planning for the Rough River Swine Show was a busy task. We had many days of setup and making sure the fairgrounds were ready for this show. My second night on the job we had a Livestock Advisory meeting where a committee discussed the District Swine Show and County Fair. There were many items to discuss so this meeting lasted well into the evening. A fruit specialist from UofK came to visit a couple farms with us starting with a blueberry farm then to a grape vineyard. He was very informed on these commodities which myself and the Agriculture agent had less experience in this field. He explained many diseases and problems that could occur with these fruits.

Week 2- Even though this week was a shorter week due to Memorial Day it was just a busy as any. We drove to Princeton, Ky to take part in the Pasture to Plate program. This was a morning event that will continue to meet throughout the year and show how to finish beef cattle and how they relate to consumers in the end. The next day we went to Owensboro to make a rain barrel workshop. This taught us about water conservation and it will be a great way to water our raised beds. More farm visits throughout the week had us travelling all over the county. Finally on Saturday we put on the Rough River District Swine Show. It was a success and everything went smoothly.

Week 3- We receive many calls to check crops and landscaping for disease and problems. After assessing the issues in a landscape we wrote the homeowner a letter of recommendations to tend to the overgrown landscape. A tomato grower had an issue with deformations on her tomatoes which we found to be "catfacing". We researched it and found the cause and some possible ways to prevent it. A complaint was made by an organic farmer that his neighbor sprayed chemicals which contaminated his tomato crop of 5,000 plants. We assesed the damage and gave the organic farmer the contact of KDA if he wished to place a formal complaint against his neighbor. We have had many farmers finish putting their crops out.