CCD-MP-1: Community Supported Agriculture

Matthew Ernst | May. 25, 2017 (Major Revision)

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)is relatively new to the United States, beginning in Massachusetts in 1986 and growing to 60 CSA farms in the U.S. in 1990. The CSA structure grew significantly in popularity among both producers and consumers during the 2000s; by 2009, as many as 6,000 farms were operating a CSA. The 2015 USDA Local Food Marketing Practices Survey reported 7,398 farms nationally selling by CSA for a sales value of $226 million. There were nearly 60 CSAs listed for Kentucky, in 2016, in the Kentucky Department of Agriculture CSA directory. The CSA marketing channel continues to increase in popularity, moving to new demographics besides the original core affluent urban consumer.

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CCD-FS-4: Weed Management

Matthew Ernst | May. 12, 2017 (New)

Weed management is a major crop production concern in Kentucky. Weeds compete for crop nutrients, water, light, and space as well as harboring potential pests and diseases, resulting in poorer growth and lower yields, leading to lower financial returns for producers. Weed management is a long-term concern, as poor weed management during one season can result in higher weed seed populations germinating in subsequent years. Weed pressure can greatly increase annual weed management costs in commodity row crop production, creating financial pressure on producers, especially during periods of low prices. Weed management is also a major challenge for organic farming in Kentucky and surrounding states.

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CCD-CP-103: Leafy Greens

Matthew Ernst, Cheryl Kaiser | May. 3, 2017 (Minor Revision)

"Leafy greens" or "greens" are broad terms used for a number of vegetable crops with edible leaves. Plants in this group belong to several unrelated taxonomic plant families that includes Brassicaceae, Chenopodiaceae, and Asteraceae. Greens are cool-season crops that are planted in early spring or late summer/fall in Kentucky. High tunnels and similar structures can be used to extend the season into winter; however, extreme summer temperatures make year-round production in Kentucky a challenge.

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CCD-FS-3: Three-year Average Weekly Prices at Kentucky Farmers Markets: 2014-2016

Martin Bechu, Alex Butler, Brett Wolff, Tim Woods | Apr. 27, 2017 (New)

This report compares average prices for 17 crops from Kentucky farmers markets across the 2014, 2015, and 2016 seasons. Farmers markets are inherently difficult to track and compare. For example, vendors at markets from across the state sell the same products in a wide variety of units. Do you want to buy your beets by the pound, quart, bunch, or bulb? What about broccoli? By the head, pound, ounce, pint or "bag"? Beyond units, farmers markets also offer immense varietal and crop diversity, sold by vendors with a wide range of experience, in a variety of market conditions. These conditions, crops and other variables also change by season. For the first time, recognizing the caveats of slight crop differences and unit harmonization, we have assembled 3‐year average prices in hopes of drawing out some trends in our Kentucky Farmers Market prices.

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CCD-CP-127: Lavender

Matthew Ernst | Apr. 25, 2017 (New)

Large-scale lavender production in Kentucky is limited by climatic requirements (low humidity and low winter temperatures ), poorly drained soils and the scale requirements for essential oils processing. Lavender could be suited as a specialty/niche crop for some Kentucky farms, especially those with ongoing agritourism enterprises. Marketing constraints and the scale requirements for essential oils processing make lavender more likely suited as a crop for ornamental or on-farm agritourism potential (lavender festivals) in Kentucky.

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CCD-CP-11: Juneberries

Matthew Ernst, Cheryl Kaiser | Apr. 19, 2017 (Minor Revision)

Juneberry (Amelanchier spp.), also known as serviceberry, is a small multiple-stemmed tree or shrub that bears edible fruit. This genus includes saskatoons (Amelanchier alnifolia), which are grown commercially for fruit production in Canada and the North Central U.S. Unfortunately, saskatoons are not considered winter hardy in Kentucky
and have serious leaf spot problems in this region. Most other species of Amelanchier are cultivated for use in landscape plantings; however, several of these ornamental cultivars show potential for fruit production. Among these are the Allegheny serviceberry (A. laevis) and hybrids (Amelanchier x grandiflora), which are hardy and have good leaf spot resistance in Kentucky

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CCD-CP-128: Black Walnuts

Matthew Ernst | Apr. 19, 2017 (New)

This profile focuses on Eastern black walnut for nut production. Persian walnuts are not recommended for commercial production in Kentucky, where Persian walnut is limited by cold temperatures, winter injury and late spring frost damage; walnut blight; and squirrels, which eat the nuts when they are immature. Detailed production information for both Eastern black walnut and Persian walnut is available in the University of Kentucky Extension publication ID-77, Nut Tree Growing in Kentucky. The University of Missouri offers a very detailed publication, listed in the Selected Resources section at the end of this publication, on establishing and cultivating Eastern black walnut for nut production.

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CCD-SP-5: Container Nursery Production

Matthew Ernst, Cheryl Kaiser | Apr. 17, 2017 (Minor Revision)

The container nursery business involves the production and marketing of ornamental trees and shrubs, fruit trees, and perennial flowers grown in aboveground containers. This production method has helped revolutionize the nursery business in the last few decades. Some of the advantages of container production include: less acreage required for production, handling convenience, and a nearly year-round harvest and planting season.

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CCD-SP-6: Field Nursery Production

Matthew Ernst, Cheryl Kaiser | Apr. 17, 2017 (Minor Revision)

Field nurseries are the traditional method of producing and marketing ornamental trees, shrubs, fruit trees, and perennial flowers. Until the mid 1900s nearly all nursery crops were produced in the field. Even with the advent of aboveground container and pot-in-pot production, field nurseries are still widely used. Some of the advantages of field production over other production methods include: less maintenance and labor requirements during the growing period, ability of plants to overwinter in the field without additional protective measures, and lower start-up costs. In Kentucky, most field-grown trees and shrubs are sold as balled-and-burlapped (B&B), meaning that the soil surrounding the plant's root system is dug with the plant and wrapped in burlap.

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CCD-CP-85: Baby Corn

Matthew Ernst, Cheryl Kaiser | Apr. 12, 2017 (Minor Revision)

Baby corn (Zea mays) is a popular Asian vegetable that can be consumed cooked or raw due to its sweet and succulent taste. Many people presume the tiny ears come from dwarf corn plants. In fact, baby corn is the immature ear of fully grown standard cultivars; ears are harvested two or three days after silk emergence, but prior to fertilization.