Carroll County • 2019

The Courthouse in Downtown Carrollton.

The Carroll County Cooperative Extension Service is the local branch of Kentucky Cooperative Extension. Through the University of Kentucky’s College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, the Cooperative Extension Service is a comprehensive educational outreach and engagement program.

Our mission is to serve as a link between Carroll County and the Commonwealth’s two land

grant universities, the University of Kentucky and Kentucky State University, to help people improve their lives through education focusing on their issues and needs.

This grass-roots organization offers educational opportunities in the following program areas:

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Family and Consumer Sciences, 4-H Youth Development, and Community and Economic Development. As we reflect on the past year, it has been our goal to introduce new, interesting, and lifestyle-changing programs that will benefit our community for years to come.

For More Information, Please Contact us at:

Carroll County Extension Office • (502) 732-7030 • https://carroll.ca.uky.edu

500 Floyd Drive, Carrollton, KY 41008

The Riverview Farmers’ Market: Farm to Table Dinner In the last twenty years since the 1998 Tobacco Settlement Agreement, Carroll County farmers have been required to diversify their farming operations. One route farmers took was focused on growing produce and meat, as well as developing a vegetable, fruit, and meat market for the community. The Riverview Farmer’s Market was established in 2004, and in the 2018 season, there were nine vendors (including one new vendor) with a diverse selection of products, including: traditional vegetables, blueberries, red and black raspberries, blackberries, melons, honey, jams, jellies, vinegars, eggs, and meat (beef, pork, lamb, rabbit). With this vast array of produce, and the growing demand for locally-produced foods, the Riverview Farmers’ Market members and the Carroll County Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) organized the first Farm to Table Dinner in Carroll County. Farm to Table Dinners have become very popular and well attended events across the Commonwealth. For over two years, the Riverview Farmers’ Market had been working towards developing this event for our county. The goals for the event included: spotlight the farmers growing food in the county, encourage consumption of locally-grown food, increase awareness of the Riverview Farmers’ Market, and support local businesses. The funds generated from the dinner would be used toward saving for a permanent structure for the Market. The Farm to Table Dinner was a collaborative effort among many different entities. The farmers of the Market provided all the local produce and flowers for the event as well as serving a vital role with the planning, preparation, and decorating of the dinner. A local caterer in the county, MoonGlimmer Gardens, developed an amazingly unique menu and assisted in decorations. Market members, Homemaker members, and 4-H members worked together to create the floral centerpieces under the direction of a local florist. A local artist created the welcome sign for attendees and a local photographer took pictures. The local newspaper ran a story promoting ticket sales two weeks prior to the dinner. 4-H’ers served

the food during the dinner. All agents and staff worked behind the scenes to help the event run smoothly. The Carroll County Extension District Board fully funded the dinner. Two downtown businesses remained open late leading up to the dinner. The Farm to Table Dinner was held on a perfect Saturday evening on July 28, 2018 in the middle of Main Street in Downtown Carrollton. A sell-out crowd of 48 dinner guests attended (23 guests were first-time attendees to an Extension program). All proceeds from ticket sales ($1200) went to the Market. Following the dinner, one business reported that five dinner guests came into their shop as a direct result of the dinner. The local caterer made contact with two individuals for two future catering events. Professional pictures from the event were posted online through social media and reached approximately 700 people. Dinner guests commented on the event through social media:

“Thank you Riverview Farmer’s Market, Carroll County Cooperative Extension Service,

and MoonGlimmer Gardens, and everyone else who helped make the first Farm to Table event a success. The food was excellent! We had a great time and would definitely do it

again!”

“I’m telling you, the Riverview Farmers Market Farm to Table Dinner was

incredible! Every detail was so nice, and I truly felt special at this event. The catering was impeccable! What a great community

event!!!”

Guests at the Farm to Table Dinner.

First Impressions: What Does Carroll County Look Like to First-Time Visitors? The First Impressions Program is a service offered through the Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky (CEDIK), where anonymous visits take place in a community by professionals in community and economic development, small business owners, and community leaders. Visitors document their experience and interactions with local community members, resulting in offered suggestions and resources to address the areas identified for potential improvement. In the Fall of 2017, the Carroll County Extension Council first learned about the First Impressions Program, listening to a CEDIK representative describe the process. After seeing the positive outcomes of the program, the council agreed to sponsor the program for Carroll County. Visits to Carroll County were conducted by six individuals throughout the months of June to November 2018. Visits were conducted on both weekdays and weekends to capture a variety of activity within the community. All visits were done in secrecy. Neither County Extension Council members nor Extension staff knew when the specific visits took place. Local government, tourism, chamber of commerce, and businesses were not told about the program so the most honest results could be achieved. In February 2019, the Carroll County Extension Agents for FCS, ANR, and 4-HYD organized a forum for CEDIK representative, Melissa Bond, to present the findings. At the forum, approximately 40-45 community

members attended. Individuals represented local government, tourism, chamber of commerce, business owners, and residents. The results were divided into the following sections: web presence, community entrances, livability, arts and culture, civic engagement, parks, public infrastructure, Downtown Carrollton, recreation and tourism, and restaurants and lodging. The recommendations offered included: 1. Create opportunities for businesses to

learn about social media 2. Address blighted lots by interstate and

downtown, as well as litter on county roads

3. Develop a strategy to encourage business owners/residents to buy local

After the results and recommendations were presented at the community forum, attendees were divided into four groups to discuss possible avenues for improvement, based on their interests: interstate clean-up, downtown, web presence, and provide more local items to purchase. The groups then came back together to report their discussions. Since the forum, the information has been shared through social media by community residents and provided to local civic groups (Rotary Club). It has also been reported that the Carroll County Fiscal Court has hired workers specifically to cleaning up the roadsides throughout the county to address the litter issue. A noticed social media campaign has begun where local businesses are sharing positive reviews about other local businesses—something we had not seen in the past. A follow-up meeting was held in April 2019 to share thoughts and ideas about moving forward. A small group of community members along with all Carroll County Extension Agents and Staff participated. The group resulted in a project geared to improving the look of vacant store fronts in the downtown area by gathering historic pictures of those buildings to place in the windows. To date, six downtown building owners have agreed to the project, and the search is underway to locate historic photographs. This project will help improve the look of vacant buildings and as historical information for local residents and visitors.

Super Star Chef During the summer of 2018, the Super Star Chef Program, provided by the University of Kentucky, was conducted in Carroll County. Five young adults taught the class. The Super Star Chef program was coordinated by the FCS Agent and the 4-H Agent in Carroll County. Sixteen (16) youth, between 2nd and 8th grade, participated in the class and completed the pre- and post-tests. Of these respondents, ten (10) 62% were female and six (6) 37% were male. Three of the participants were Hispanic. Overall, pre-post comparisons of participant responses to the assessment instrument show that the program enhanced participant understanding of the nutrition concepts covered in the program. Average total score on the test increased from 11.19 in the pre-test to 14.31 in the post-test. (out of a maximum of 15.) The pre-post test also included seven items that measured participants’ cooking self-efficacy. Responses to these seven items were summed to create a cooking self-efficacy score. Pre-post analysis showed that participants’ cooking self-efficacy increased from 25.06 in the pre-test to 28.25 in the post-test (out of a maximum of 32). The post-test also included eight (8) self-assessment of learning gains items. These items asked the participants to indicate the extent to which they agreed or disagreed that they learned the concepts described in each statement All the respondents agreed/strongly agreed that they learned the correct way to hold a knife for cutting. Also, about 88% of the respondents agreed/strongly agreed they learned about the amount of fruits and vegetables they should have on their plates; learned about how germs can be transferred to food; learned how to wash their hands to remove germs; learned how to read nutrition labels; and learned how to measure ingredients. All but two of the participants plan to eat more fruits and vegetables after participating in the program.

15 producers implemented a crossbreeding program and utilized Expected Progeny Differences when selecting bulls

6 individuals extended support to another grandparent or relative raising a child

32 youth can keep production, performance or financial records on their 4-H agriculture projects

13 producers were successful in marketing/selling food products

160 hours volunteered by Carroll County Homemakers for Extension activities/events

150 hours volunteered by Carroll County Homemakers for community service (non-Extension) activities/events

257 youth with confidence speaking in front of groups

75 producers who used diagnostic services to identify insects, disease and/or weeds

12 participants learned how to start a caregiving conversations as a result of the Prepare to Care program

26 volunteers have taught at least two hours of curriculum-based instruction to 4-H members

4 producers tested stored forage

79 youth participated in summer residential camps

Extension At a Glance