By Blake Jackson
On July 17, community members gathered at the Harold R. Benson Research and Demonstration Farm for the monthly Third Thursday Thing workshop, a sustainable agriculture program held on the third Thursday of each month.
This month’s session focused on cattle and poultry, featuring presentations by Dr. Abbigail Hines, Mike Wilson, and Dr. Frederick Bebe. These workshops attract participants from across Kentucky, many of whom attend regularly to deepen their agricultural knowledge and skills.
One such longtime participant is David Miller, who has been involved with the program since 2008.
“I take the information, I use it on the farm, I analyze it, and I see what I can do different or what I can do better… I feel like every time I come, there’s something that I could learn…,” said Miller.
David Neville, a Kentucky State University graduate and owner of Capstone Farms, is another frequent attendee who values the opportunity to both learn and connect with fellow farmers.
“I have varied interest and so I attend, not everyone, but several of Third Thursday programs. It gives me a chance to do a couple of things: really learn stuff, which is the main focus of this, but also to network and see some people that I don’t get to see but once every six months, so it’s a relationship building thing for me,” said Neville.
“This is a good way to get out of your head and talk to other folks in terms of how they’re using [information] or how we can put it into practice on our own farms.”
Originally launched in 1997 as a training for extension agents, Third Thursday Thing has since evolved into a public workshop series open to all. It now covers a range of topics year-round (except December), aiming to boost the sustainability of small, beginning, and limited-resource farms in Kentucky.
For more information, contact Edwin Chavous at edwin.chavous@kysu.edu.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-baranozdemir
Categories: Kentucky, Livestock, Dairy Cattle