A recent WEKU feature on Wildcat Mountain Cheese in Laurel County offered more than a glimpse inside a family-run dairy and cheesemaking operation. It also underscored the importance of Kentucky State University Cooperative Extension in supporting small farmers across the Commonwealth.
The story, part of WEKU’s “Off the Beaten Path with Sam Dick,” profiles Ronnie and Clara Patton of Wildcat Mountain Cheese in East Bernstadt. Ronnie Patton is a third-generation dairy farmer who milks 20 cows twice a day, seven days a week, while Clara Patton turns the farm’s milk into more than a dozen varieties of cheese sold from the farm shop, at farmers markets, and through small retailers from Kentucky to West Virginia.
The feature also includes perspective from Laura Rogers, small farm area agent with Kentucky State Cooperative Extension, who spoke to the challenges facing small farms as fewer young people pursue agriculture as a livelihood.
“One thing is that our population is getting older,” Rogers told WEKU. “I don’t see as many 18, 19, 20-somethings doing it. It’s hard work.”
For Kentucky State, the story reflects the purpose of Cooperative Extension: connecting research-based knowledge, practical support, and local relationships to the farmers, families, and communities working to sustain agriculture in Kentucky.
That support also includes programs such as Kentucky State’s Small-Scale Farm Grant, which helps Kentucky small-scale farmers strengthen their operations. Since the program’s inception in December 2012, the Kentucky Office of Agricultural Policy has provided $7.7 million in program funding, which Kentucky State administers through grant cycles.
Source : kysu.edu