A joint effort by the University of Kentucky, North Carolina State University and University of Tennessee to educate people impacted by the federal tobacco buyout has received national recognition.Tobacco specialists from these land-grant universities provided policy analysis during the evolution of buyout legislation, described the buyout, discussed post-buyout investment and tax issues, and assisted growers with post-buyout management decisions.The efforts, led by Will Snell and Steve Isaacs at UK, Blake Brown at NC State and Kelly Tiller at UT, received the American Agricultural Economics Association Outstanding Extension Award this week in Long Beach, Calif.The Kentucky effort included more than 40 county and regional Cooperative Extension Service meetings within a nine-month period for those affected by the buyout in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, with total attendance exceeding 6,000. Meetings for agricultural lenders, financial institutions and accountants were also conducted, as were presentations to farm organizations and elected officials. A Web site and newsletters were also part of the overall program.“I am pleased that this outstanding Extension effort was recognized on a national basis,” said Larry Turner, UK associate dean for Extension. “Drs. Snell and Isaacs and the whole UK team are to be commended. This is one example of the high-quality Extension programming provided through the UK Cooperative Extension Service in the College of Agriculture.”In addition to Snell and Isaacs, Kentucky’s team included Tracy Webb Probst, Extension associate, David Heisterberg, coordinator of the Kentucky Farm Management Program, and program specialists Rick Costin, Craig Gibson, Ross Key, Brian Lacefield, Suzy Martin, Rush Midkiff, Terry Moss, Jennifer Rogers and RW Eldridge. “This program was needed, was well planned and executed, and met a critical need for agricultural producers in Kentucky and other states at a time when those producers needed answers,” Turner said.