>> They tend to be very selfless individuals.

And so I think that is another barrier that we have to keep talking about.

>> How one program is breaking down barriers between farmers and mental health care.

>> This overall project actually was born out of that opportunity to say, we need to put more resources in, think about how we can develop more technologies here in the US.

>> All tech furthers its future and that of Jessamine County's with fertilizer.

>> You're hedging your bets that you're you know, the Roy Meade cut cut short been is still going to be in Appalachia.

>> Plus, how an Eastern Kentucky seed swap is giving old fashioned foods new life.

>> Our food supply is dependent on this next generation of students.

>> And they're learning how to produce that food for their friends and neighbors.

>> Production of Kentucky Edition is made possible in part by the KET Millennium Fund.

>> Good evening and welcome to a special edition of Kentucky Edition.

We thank you so much for joining us.

I'm Renee Shaw.

Tonight we're spotlighting agriculture and farming in Kentucky, which we do regularly on Kentucky Edition in a segment we call rooted.

Farming is not only physically demanding, but it can also be tough on the mind.

According to the National Rural Health Association Policy Brief, farmers are three and a half times more likely to die by suicide than the general population.

That's part of the reason why the University of Kentucky has formed the Building Bridges to Farmer Mental Health Project.

The program seeks to address the mental health struggles of Kentucky's farmers and break down the barriers to treatment.

>> We call our initiative the Building Bridges to Farmer Mental Health Project, and it's really all about supporting the well-being of farmers and farm families here in Kentucky.

And we try to do that in a couple of different ways.

When you look at the statistics, the suicide rate in the US has risen over 30% in the past 20 years, which is certainly alarming across the board.

But we also know that agricultural workers and farmers are disproportionately affected.

And among one of the groups with the highest suicide rates, and here in Kentucky and in a lot of rural communities, those rates are even higher.

So farmers tend to deal with a mix of stressors that most people don't face.

They have to be thinking about their farm and their business and their family on a daily basis.

And so they're facing things like unpredictable weather, which we have certainly seen our fair share of here in Kentucky over the last few years.

You know, changes in markets and policies.

And that's all on top of working long hours.

The financial strain of running a farm, regardless of your size.

And so, you know, I think those are the some of the key risk factors when you're thinking of the farm business.

But the other thing is farming can be isolating.

There's still a stigma, you know, just as still feeling like, especially in rural areas, that you don't talk about mental health.

You know, you kind of power through it and you need to figure out what you need to do to get to the next day.

As we really got into this project, we quickly learned that every farmer and farm family has slightly different stressors, slightly different needs, and we wanted to make sure that we were being responsive to that and our communication and our messaging.

We've been really inclusive of reaching out to farmers, ranchers, agriculture workers across Kentucky, big farms, small farms, family farms, urban farms because I think impetus for change is an engaging community network so that we're all working together.

We have a couple of things that we use for our strategies.

We are training what we call mental health advocates, really trying to focus on rural communities here in Kentucky.

But we are also open to others participating because we know that the the farm sector cuts across many of these different regions, and we try to support them in suicide prevention training, communication, training, and just general connection to available resources to support mental health and well-being.

The other thing that is has really been unearthed with some of our conversations with farmers is the time and money pressure, so that you're not really thinking about putting your own health first.

You're putting everything else first, including the health of your farm, including the health of your family, the health of your the others in your community.

You know, they tend to be very selfless individuals.

And so I think that is another barrier that we have to keep talking about.

>> The project currently has 12 trained community health advocates spread across the state, with the majority coming from a farming background, an international company rooted in Jessamine County is expanding.

Alltech will be adding its first ever US based manufacturing plant to the company's campus in Nicholasville, thanks in part to a $2.34 million investment from the U.S.

Department of Agriculture.

We spoke to Alltech and local leaders after the announcement about the expansion and what it means for Jessamine County and the state.

>> Alltech is a business focused on animal health and nutrition.

We were founded here in Kentucky in 1980 by my father, and the business has continued to grow and continue to have Kentucky as our headquarters and and really our home since then.

It's a very international business.

We operate in about 90 countries, selling over 140 countries.

But so much happens right here in Kentucky.

>> We're really excited about the opportunity that Alltech has here with this award that the USDA has given.

It's going to be going towards to help construct a new 15,000 square foot facility that will be dedicated to producing a new biological fertilizer product that they've been working on.

It's going to produce about 66,000 gallons of biological fertilizer per month.

>> Their world headquarters, located in Jessamine County.

But now they are building their first manufacturing facility here in Jessamine County.

First manufacturing facility in the United States.

Not only will it provide permanent jobs at the manufacturing facility, but it's going to generate jobs in building the facility.

>> This grant and this overall project actually was born out of that opportunity to say, we need to put more resources in, think about how we can develop more technologies here in the US as opposed to what we were doing before, which is mainly out of Spain or in Brazil, and really create something that can be really tailored for the US producer thinking primarily around row crops.

I'm really excited to see how now, with a fully dedicated production unit for crop science here in the US, we can do something that I think makes a step change for us in terms of our growth.

>> The Department of Agriculture realizes the need to invest in an American company, that that will produce jobs.

We'll produce products that our farmers can use manufactured here, reducing their dependance on foreign made products.

I think that farmers will be able to recognize a savings in fertilizer that they use.

Plus, this is a biological fertilizer that is creating a sustainable agriculture model.

>> What we are producing here are products that actually will help to remove synthetic fertilizers, pesticides from our food chain.

And so that's also an overall positive I think for for our population, for our nature as well.

And so those are additional benefits that can come from this beyond just the economic impact.

>> Around biological fertilizers themselves, is to help with more availability of high quality, locally produced fertilizers that are able to help improve yields on some of our more organic, sustainable farms that we have in the state.

We need all forms of agriculture, whether it's traditional, whether it's industrial, whether it's homestead at home, farmers market style, or whether it's thousands of acres of corn and beans.

And so and all the above strategy is what we look at.

And we need options available for farmers that want to do this more sustainable, organic type of operation.

And this is this is an opportunity for that for statewide agriculture.

>> As a US based company selling in so many different locations, it's really impactful.

I think the the tax impact we can have here, the the way that we can give back in that manner.

I see it as something that's a little bit of a hybrid.

And I think more than anything, a first step in something that probably will be a much larger project where I think we will create more jobs here in Kentucky as we go forward.

So this is a first step, I would say, in a in a process that that will continue to grow.

And I'd love to see us very much in, you know, 20s, 30s, 40s numbers of jobs that we'll be able to create out of this.

But you got to make the first step first.

>> Alltech broke ground on the new facility in October.

Construction is expected to be completed late next year or early 2027, after flash flooding in 2021 almost wiped out an heirloom crop in eastern Kentucky, Pike County took a step toward protecting the Appalachian region's agricultural heritage.

The Appalachian heirloom seed swap is a yearly tradition in Pikeville that attracts gardeners and farmers from across the country, according to organizers of the swap.

It's not just a celebration of seeds, but Appalachia itself.

>> The impetus to begin the Appalachian seed swap in Pikeville was the Harless Creek flood, which was probably 15 or 20 years ago.

We were really upset because here in Pike County, there is a white cushaw called the Farmer Brown Cushaw, the chief grower of that cushaw lost all of the seed during the Harless Creek flood.

We decided, well, we can't have we can't lose the farmer Brown cushaw and we can't lose what is ours here in Pike County and in eastern Kentucky.

And so we got with the extension service, and they were supportive.

And we were going to do a seed swap.

The first year we had maybe six vendors, and we were hoping for 20 people to show up, and there was probably between 50 and 75.

And the next year it doubled.

We now have about 40 vendors typically and anywhere.

If the weather is good, people attend from 7 to 8 states.

They travel as far as from New York.

We have a couple that comes from New York, from Louisiana.

We've had them from Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin, just all over.

>> For for somebody coming to the seed swap for the first time, you don't have to bring anything to come.

It is a buy, sell, trade and learn event.

So you can come and you can shop with our vendors.

And we have classes and workshops that will help you to take home some seed saving knowledge and help you to in your own home garden.

And again, you're getting a piece of our Appalachian history and culture.

>> They are heirloom seeds, not hybrid seeds.

Here in Appalachia, we're blessed that we have the mountains that kind of protect us from cross-pollination.

So having these heirloom seeds, they don't get all the contaminants, if you will.

And so they stay in the hollers and they stay with stay with the people that have grown them for years and years.

And the seed swap made us realize that we didn't need to hold on to them within the families that we needed to get them out.

>> The commercial seeds are they're grown for production, they're grown for shipping, and they're grown for appearance.

Well, most heirlooms were saved mostly because of taste.

>> It is really rooted in community.

We are a very resilient and self-reliant people.

We help our neighbors.

The seed swap brings people from different backgrounds together farmers, gardeners, even historians.

And when you come to the seed swap, you get that sense of community and also a piece of Appalachian history.

>> Diversifying ourselves and other areas together.

But, you know, it's a chance for us to share and for them to share their experiences and things.

And I think in and help just got to help build culture.

We I think we need more culture in this, in this whole country.

But preserving these seeds, though, and preserving taste, slow food, slow food, taste and all that.

>> They grow out our stuff and and it gets around that way.

And so there's not just one spot.

You're, you're hedging your bets that you're, you know, the Roy Mead cut, cut short being is still going to be in Appalachia or, or the c row Blackburn tomato is still going to be right here for generations to come.

>> Indeed, our next story has benefits that are twofold.

A community has nearby access to local nutritious foods, and farmers get their products from field to table, mere miles from where it's raised and harvested.

Our Laura Rogers explains.

>> Hailing from a fifth generation family dairy in Warren County, you might say Elizabeth Lunsford comes from cattle farm royalty.

>> I got to witness them growing that business from the ground up and really taking a leap.

And I think that's something that's always been kind of in me from the very beginning.

>> She's still part of the Chaney's Dairy Barn family operation, bottling and selling her family's Jersey milk, but she and her husband, Chase, also have their own agricultural pursuits on their Allen County farm with 2020 Cattle Company.

>> The cows we have here with us today are a Santa Cruz Cross cattle.

Some of them are American Red cross, Hereford Cross.

So we have a blend of animals that we have kind of have, have brought together over the years to be our our base for our mama herd, for our Wagyu cattle.

>> Wagyu beef originates from Japan, a breed that thrives in a calm environment with space to roam and specialized care.

>> They grow a lot slower, but the end product marbling is is significant.

>> And while you can find their Wagyu beef as far away as Heritage Foods in Brooklyn, New York.

>> Very cool thing that a farm in Allen County, Kentucky can be able to provide a product that makes it all the way to New York.

>> You can also find the Lunsford's Wagyu beef closer to home at Bowling Green restaurants like Hickory and Oak, as well as Delafield Co-op Market, a micro grocery in the west end of town.

>> We're bringing food to a food desert.

I like to say that the market is an oasis in a food desert.

Everybody can come here and have a drink.

>> Hotel Inc.

a nonprofit offering support and resources for numerous challenges, including homelessness, operates the market and the Delafield community where they're based.

>> One of the things that Hotel Inc.

heard from neighbors a number of years ago is they really missed having a local supermarket that was located right here, basically right across the street from this neighborhood, and they really missed having that.

>> The co-op fills that void while also supporting local farmers and Kentucky proud producers as vendors hand-selected by Gregory Bird.

>> He saw our product and liked our product and really felt a gr their market.

>> It means a lot to the community just to have nutritional foods, knowing that it's coming from local farmers.

That's been huge for the community.

>> And also provides a way to connect with their neighbors.

>> It is very much sort of what you used to see in neighborhoods across the United States decades and decades ago.

It's like your little corner store.

People know your name.

>> And they can get there with or without a car by walking a short distance, riding the city bus, or using the delivery service.

>> By incorporating this co-op market, we're able to provide fresh, healthy fruits and vegetables that are grown in season.

We're helping to encourage and maintain our local food system.

>> There's also the affordability factor.

The co-op accepts SNAP and CityBeat and Kentucky double dollars.

>> So that program right there takes $20 and stretches it to 40.

>> No matter where you are, no matter what part of Kentucky what income level you are, I think it's important to be able to have a product that is available to you that is of quality, that is local, that they can enjoy with their families as well.

>> And sometimes those foods are new to the taste buds.

>> I can introduce new foods to people.

I got a customer who never had a mango before, as today we're getting samples of the Lampkin melon and I've never had one, so that's really exciting, bringing new foods for people to try and exposing them to new different types of options.

>> Different options with the same goal of a happy, healthy community.

>> It feels like a noble responsibility.

>> For Kentucky Edition.

I'm Laura Rogers.

>> Thank you Laura.

More than 1000 middle and high school students were invited to Kentucky State University's campus to attend the university's annual AG Roundup event earlier this year.

It was a three day agricultural showcase organized by the College of AG Health and Natural Resources.

The goal to help grow the future of agriculture in the state.

>> So we want the students.

>> To know agriculture is all around them.

So this agricultural roundup really is about bringing the community together here on the Kentucky State University campus.

KSU is the.

>> Second institution in the state, so agriculture is a big part of what we do, and this is just a way for us to expose, to expose the young ones to what we do and what agriculture is all about.

>> Many of the students today, it's their first time at Kentucky State University.

Most have never been to a farm or been talked to about agriculture and the many opportunities.

We're not talking about simply being on the farm.

We're talking about the technology from the farm, at the farm, on the farm.

We want to show those students they have a place.

>> Today, we have middle school and high schoolers here out talking to the different foundations.

We have Farm Credit, Farm Bureau, a bunch of different companies out here for the students to network and just talk to, and also for the K-State students to network and get internships as well.

And then we're also showing the younger kids what their what agriculture has to offer.

The broader aspect, whether that's lab work or agribusiness or aquaponics works, urban agriculture so much.

>> I really liked all the students.

They were all super nice and like, we got to talk to them.

They were like, they made sure we like, learn something and like gave extra details.

I thought it was all really fun though.

I really enjoyed this field trip.

>> We also are talking to students about how Stem is incorporated throughout agriculture.

It's a very, very technologically advanced activity in agriculture today.

We can actually trace where our food comes from.

I was reading something where you can take a cell from a drop of milk or even a cell from a piece of meat from a cow, and trace that back.

Depending on the tracing technology that's used, that's high science, and we want our students to know they can be part of that science.

>> It really teaches me something about agriculture that I didn't really know.

It's not advertised as much like degree wise as other degrees, like like for instance, I'm exercise science and just really, you know, learn about something else while I'm in college is always great and it's just a great opportunity.

>> We experience a lot, we experience the band, we experience all the different cultures, the different things we study.

Here at Kentucky State University.

>> There's a lot of opportunities here out there with AG that people don't know.

Like you don't necessarily always have to work on a farm.

You can also work in an office and a lab.

So this is just opening up the door and, you know, broadening those children's perspectives.

And also our K-State students.

>> We want to show students how great it is to be in agriculture.

Agriculture is education.

Agriculture is life.

>> Agriculture is life.

That's worth remembering.

October was farm to school month in Kentucky and Barren County.

A community wide effort provided a Hands-On lesson in how our food gets from the farm to the table.

Our Lord Rogers is back to take us there.

>> I need more apples.

>> The real goal is trying to get kids to know and understand where their food comes from.

>> And what better way to do that than by hosting a hog roast.

>> We have always felt that our ag programs, especially in the school district, should reflect the community.

>> Berrien County Schools have a dedicated farm to school coordinator and Andy Joe Moore.

>> It's one of the coolest things when you can help students produce food and give them the opportunity to enjoy that meal amongst their friends, amongst their peers.

>> To do so, the school district connects with local farmers and Sustainable Glasgow.

>> They were doing an event and we were doing a hog roast and we said, hey, why don't we partner together and make this big?

>> And they did, selling 500 tickets and inviting the entire community.

>> To enjoy the meal.

>> We'll show them what you guys are doing, how amazing your students are.

We'll feed them with our food locally.

Everything comes right here from the area.

>> That is a connection to our local economy.

That's a connection to our local agriculturalist, our farmers.

>> There are a lot of farmers in Berrien County.

The 2022 Census of Agriculture reflects more than 1600 farms across 230,500 acres, the most in the state of Kentucky.

>> When you live in an agricultural community, the support comes from every angle, and that's very encouraging.

>> The connection between the kids and the farmers.

That's what we want to facilitate.

>> Sustainable Glasgow people from the farmers market, people from the Agriculture Department and our food and nutrition services will begin meeting and having discussion in June July.

>> From pressing fresh apple cider to picking the flowers for table arrangements, every detail meticulously planned and executed.

>> The kids actually churn butter for this event from country milk.

>> That's used on the menu tonight with the cornbread.

>> Hannah Simmons says her students get excited to see what they're learning in class.

Translate to this event.

>> We see so many changes within the agriculture industry, the way technology is changing agriculture.

Our food supply is dependent on this next generation of students.

>> And if last night is any indication, we're in good hands for Kentucky Edition.

I'm Laura Rogers.

>> Thanks again Laura.

The dinner supported Sustainable Glasgow and the Kentucky Double Dollars program, which helps people in need get more for their money at the local farmers market.

Lastly, tonight, a celebration of Kentucky's pork industry had some state lawmakers hamming it up in Frankfort.

>> Come on.

>> This is the Legislative Pig Showmanship competition, one of the events that took place in October to honor Pork Month, the lawmakers joined AG Commissioner Jonathan Schell in the show ring to learn the basics of swine showmanship and what goes into raising livestock from local youth.

>> We're showcasing pork for Pork Month in October, and the way that we decided to do that this year was something a little bit outside the box, something a little bit different, and we just had a legislative showmanship showdown against me.

My deputy commissioner was the judge.

I lost Ryan Bivins won, but it was a great time, and it was a great way for us to be able to promote the industry that we love so much, and especially our pork industry here in Kentucky.

>> One of the things that we are working on in the General Assembly is to get programs in place to teach our young people the importance of agriculture, not only seeing the aspect of livestock or seeing the tractors in the field, but also know there are very, very important opportunities there in their future as they come out of school, opportunities that they can build a very, very good life on that does not deal with being there on the farm outside of that farm ground.

But agricultural industrial opportunities.

>> And now, therefore, I, Jonathan Schell, the Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture, do hereby proclaim the month of October in Kentucky to be observed as Kentucky Pork Month.

Go, bacon.

>> Go bacon.

I bet that pig's not saying that Kentucky ranks in the top 20 states for swine production.

With more than 1800 operations, the Kentucky Department of AG says Kentucky's pork industry created more than $640 million of gross national product last year.

Well, that will do it for us tonight.

We hope you've enjoyed this special program, and we hope you'll come back again tomorrow at 630 eastern, 530 Central on Kentucky Edition, where we inform, connect and inspire.

We hope you'll connect with us all the ways you see on your screen by the social media channels Facebook, Instagram and X to stay in the loop.

And we encourage you to send us a story idea by email to Public Affairs at ket.org.

Have a great night and until I see you again, take really good care.

So long.