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Central Kentucky Farm Expo Is Sept. 2

Central Kentucky Farm Expo Is Sept. 2

Central Kentucky Farm Expo Is Sept. 2

The theme of this year’s expo is “A Century of Farming Progress” and is open to the public free of charge. Consumers will discover what promise new technologies offer for better quality, more nutritious food. Farmers who want to learn about new efficient methods for growing crops with less impact

Published on Aug. 11, 2004

ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky.—

Since 1996, the rural community of Hardin County has worked to provide an educational opportunity of interest to both rural and urban audiences.

This year’s Central Kentucky Farm Expo will be at Meadow View Farms, owned and operated by the Ray Mackey family near Glendale . Neighboring farmers Richard Preston and Don and Dianna Summers are also cooperating to host this year’s expo.

The event is conducted on an every-other-year basis and includes educational tours, equipment exhibits, and a formal program with this year’s focus on the latest advances in farm technology, said Rod Grusy, University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service agent for agriculture and natural resources in Hardin County.

The theme of this year’s expo is “A Century of Farming Progress” and is open to the public free of charge.  Consumers will discover what promise new technologies offer for better quality, more nutritious food.  Farmers who want to learn about new efficient methods for growing crops with less impact on the environment will get the latest updates on research related to precision farming.

Registration and field tours begin at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 2 at Meadow View Farms. To get to the farm from Elizabethtown travel I-65 south to exit 86. Turn left on Kentucky 222 and follow it to the stop sign. Turn right on U.S. 31W and travel 1.5 miles to Mackey Road . Turn left on Mackey Roadand travel east for 1 mile. The farm is on the left. Signs will be posted along the route.

Activities include county corn and soybean variety trials tour, precision agriculture tour, no-till tobacco demonstration, electronic livestock identification program, agriculture safety demonstration, electrical safety demonstration, farm safety display, modern and antique equipment display and precision farming display.

The precision agriculture tour will include presentations on corn insecticide research, nitrogen management, variable rate fertilizer, and soil mapping. Presenters include specialists with the UK College of Agriculture, farm supply dealers and farm cooperators.

This is the third year no-till tobacco production research has been conducted in Hardin County , Grusy said. Interest in this production method is growing in the county, he said.

Organizers hope to attract farmers and non farmers alike from throughout the region, Grusy said. In past years the expo has attracted from 300 to 450 people.

A beef dinner will be served by the Hardin County Beef Cattle Association at 6 p.m. compliments of expo sponsors: Hardin County Cooperative Extension Service, Extension Grain Committee, Hardin County Farm Bureau, Hardin County Soil and Water Conservation District, and participating seed companies.

The event will conclude with a presentation by Ray Mackey Sr. and Carol Mackey Hinton on their perception of farm life – past, present, and future. Hinton, Breckinridge County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources, and her husband, Steve, own and operate a farm in Breckinridge County . Other members of the family corporation are Ray Allen Mackey and David Mackey.

In addition to the day of activities for adults, the site will host two days of activities for children. The Kids’ Heritage Expo is a voluntary program offered by the Hardin County Cooperative Extension Service to all county schools and provides a unique on-farm experience to show our youth the many changes that have occurred in agriculture during the past 100 years. More than 500 fifth-graders will attend this year’s event.

Questions concerning the Central Kentucky Farm Expo or Kid’s Heritage Expo should be directed to Rod Grusy, 270-765-4121 ext. 34.

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Contact Information

Scovell Hall Lexington, KY 40546-0064

cafenews@uky.edu