By Alexis Sheffield
Finding the right equipment for a small- to mid-sized farm can be a challenge. Much of the equipment available on the market is designed for larger-scale operations, leaving Kentucky growers looking for tools that fit their acreage, crops, labor, and budgets.
This challenge is what started us down the path toward the 2026 Appropriate Tools & Technologies Field Day.
In 2024, I traveled with Sarah Guerkink of the Organic Association of Kentucky and a group of 12 Kentucky crop farmers to the Midwest Mechanical Weed Control Field Day at Purdue University. The trip gave farmers an opportunity to see a wide range of equipment in action and, perhaps more importantly, talk with other growers and educators about how these tools could fit their operations. One thing we heard clearly from our group was the need for more equipment and technologies designed with the small to mid-sized farmer in mind.
That feedback led CCD and OAK to host Kentucky’s first Mechanical Weed Control Field Day in 2025. The event gave specialty crop growers a chance to see and evaluate equipment firsthand, while also giving us an opportunity to hear directly from farmers about other areas of their operations where the right tools could make a difference.
Source : uky.edu