Growing markets for fall ornamentalsBy Matt Ernst, independent writerFall ornamental vegetable shipments have grown as consum-ers increased spending on fall decorations. Although Hallow-een decorating expenses will reach another record this year, according to an annual survey by the National Retail Federa-tion, the market for farm-raised ornamentals can extend be-yond Halloween. Here are a few marketing reminders that can help farms capture some of that growing consumer “spend” on seasonal décor.

Novelty Sells, This Year and NextWholesale channels, including produce auctions, have in-creased the flow of commodity pumpkins, corn and other ornamentals to retailers. Price reports from terminal produce markets and regional auctions show steady to increasing de-mand for novel items, like unusual miniatures and uniquely colored corn. Note what’s moving this season, identify how your farm could leverage similar trends next year … and get those seed orders in early.

Expand Your Social Media SavvyWelcome to the world of Pinterest. More and more consumers, especially females with families, use Pinterest to find seasonal ideas – everything from how to save a few bucks on the kids’ Halloween costumes to tips for making your own stunning Thanksgiving centerpiece.

Some marketing experts advise direct farm marketers to main-tain a Pinterest presence; if you’re not there yet, try brows-ing the site to find ornamental uses to suggest to farm stand, farmers market and CSA customers. And don’t write off those

What’s insideKY Hemp applications....... 2 Organics on the grow ....... 3

Coming upOct. 20 - Cooperatively Mar-keting Your Products webi-nar, noon-1 p.m. From The Ohio State University Direct Marketing Team. Free. For more information and to register, click here.

Oct. 24-25 - KY Women in Agriculture Conference, Bowling Green. For details, see Page 4.

Nov. 15 - Seed Contracting, Economics and Policy webi-nar, 2 p.m. EST. Free. Part of the Organic Seed Produc-tion webinar series, from the Organic Seed Alliance and the Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture. To register, click here.

Nov. 15-17 - Small, Limited-Resource/Minority Farmers Conference, Kentucky State University, Frankfort. For more information, see Page 4.

October 2016

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Brett Wolff, EditorChristy Cassady, Editor/Designer

Cooperative Extension Service | Agriculture and Natural Resources | Family and Consumer Sciences | 4-H Youth Development | Community and Economic DevelopmentEducational programs of Kentucky Cooperative Extension serve all people regardless of economic or social status and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnic origin, national origin, creed,

religion, political belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, marital status, genetic information, age, veteran status, or physical or mental disability.

to make pies, soups and other food from the bet-ter-eating of ornamentals. This could be a way to attract younger consumers, the millennials who continue favoring purchases that can result in a new experience.

Not the Final SaleFinally, consider how a fall ornamental purchase could create an opportu-nity for a later seasonal sale. Consumers spend far more on holiday dec-orations, on average, in November and Decem-ber. Cedar and pine gath-ered from around the farm, especially when crafted into wreaths and other decorations, can create opportunities for a sales bump during the year’s final months. Other late-season sales

opportunities could come from native decora-tives: Bittersweet, mountain laurel, Christmas fern and other native plants have long been gathered for decorations. The CCD fact sheets on wildcraft-ing are a good starting point for marketing, legal issues and other considerations for expanding this market: http://www.uky.edu/ccd/production/system-resources/other/wildcrafting.

“older” social media – Facebook and YouTube. Men are more likely to use YouTube to find ideas for Halloween costumes (and maybe novel yard decorations?) during the last two weeks of Octo-ber, according to the NRF.

Sell a Service Add-onAs fall decorating grew in popularity, some farm entrepreneurs found a market niche for selling a service add-on: Setting up well-designed front entryway displays and yard designs. Residen-tial customers aren’t the only market; some busi-nesses are willing to pay a little extra for a “pro-fessional” installation of corn shocks around door posts and the like. This idea could extend into the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons, too. Don’t forget to check any additions to your busi-ness licensing and liability insurance, which may be needed if you decide to head in this direction.

Eat It!Pie pumpkins are the original edible ornamental. Direct marketers can encourage more fall sales by providing point-of-purchase information on how

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Photo by Cheryl Kaiser, University of Kentucky

KY Hemp Research Pilot Program taking applications for 2017From the Kentucky Department of AgricultureFRANKFORT — Kentuckians interested in partic-ipating in the industrial hemp research pilot pro-gram in 2017 are invited to submit an application with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

“The pilot research program will continue to build on the successes of the previous administration by developing research data on industrial hemp production, processing, manufacturing, and mar-keting for Kentucky growers,” Agriculture Com-missioner Ryan Quarles said. “KDA’s objective is to expand and strengthen Kentucky’s research

pilot program, so that if the federal government chooses to remove industrial hemp from the list of controlled substances, Kentucky’s growers and farmers will be positioned to thrive, prosper and ultimately prevail as national leaders in industrial hemp production.”

The KDA operates its program under the author-ity of a provision of the 2014 federal farm bill that permits industrial hemp pilot programs in states where hemp production is permitted by state law. Participants planted more than 2,350 acres of hemp in 2016, compared with 922 acres in 2015

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and 33 acres in 2014, the first year of the program.

Applicants should be aware of important new measures for the 2017 research program, includ-ing the following:

• To strengthen the department’s partnership with state and local law enforcement officers, KDA will provide GPS coordinates of approved industrial hemp planting sites to law enforcement agencies before any hemp is planted. GPS coordinates must be submitted on the application. Applicants must consent to allow program staff and law enforce-ment officers to inspect any premises where hemp or hemp products are being grown, handled, stored, or processed.

• To promote transparency and ensure a fair play-ing field, KDA will rely on objective criteria, out-lined in the newly released 2017 Policy Guide, to evaluate applications. An applicant’s criminal background check must indicate no drug-related misdemeanor convictions, and no felony convic-tions of any kind, in the past 10 years. Staff with the KDA’s industrial hemp pilot program will consider whether applicants have complied with instructions from the department, Kentucky State Police, and local law enforcement.

• As the research program continues to grow, KDA’s hemp staff needs additional resources and manpower to administer this tremendously popu-lar program. The addition of participant fees will enable KDA hemp staff to handle an increasing

workload without needing additional taxpayer dollars from the General Assembly. Program ap-plicants will be required to submit a nonrefund-able application fee of $50 with their applications. Successful applicants will be required to pay ad-ditional program fees.

Grower applications must be postmarked or re-ceived by the KDA marketing office no later than November 14th, 2016 at 4:30 p.m. EST. Processor or handler applicants are encouraged to submit their applications by November 14th at 4:30 p.m. EST.

For more information, including the 2017 Policy Guide and a downloadable application, go to ky-agr.com/hemp.

Given the expected volume of interest, the KDA asks that you carefully review all information available before contacting KDA with questions.

Certified organic farming continues to grow in Kentucky

An industrial hemp research plot at UK’s Spindletop Farm.Photo by Matt Barton, UK Agricultural Communications

From USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Kentucky Field OfficeLOUISVILLE – The U.S. Department of Agri-culture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its 2015 Certified Organic Pro-duction Report in September from the survey conducted earlier this year. The survey queried all known USDA-certified organic farms across Ken-tucky.

“Production of organic crops and livestock con-tinues to grow in Kentucky,” said David Knopf, director of the NASS Eastern Mountain Regional

Office in Kentucky. “It’s a small portion of all ag-ricultural products raised in the Commonwealth, but still very important growth for those certified farms.”

In 2015, Kentucky’s USDA-certified organic farms sold a total of $9.4 million in organically produced commodities, including $3.4 million in crops sales and $6 million in sales of livestock, poultry and their products.

“Sales have almost tripled since 2011 (last time only certified farms were surveyed),” Knopf said,

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Don’t miss the CCD’s “What to Think About Before You Plant” workshop!Are you new to farming, or an experienced farmer considering a new crop? The Center for Crop Diversification’s What to Think About Before You Plant workshop will bene-fit both new growers and established grow-ers who are interested in trying a new crop or crops. The workshop, which will be offered at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 10th, at the Kentucky Fruit and Vegetable Conference, is available at no additional charge to confer-ence attendees. The conference will be held at Embassy Suites in Lexington on January 9th-10th. Click here for more information.

“while the number of certified farms increased from 42 to 86.” Milk led all sales totaling $4.7 million, or 49 per-cent of all sales. Field crops and vegetables fol-lowed with $1.6 million and $1.5 million in sales, respectively. Cattle and other livestock round out the top five. Average sales were $108,977 per farm.

“Field crops and vegetable production have shown the most growth in recent years,” Knopf added. “Thirty-six percent of all sales were crops, up from 24 percent in 2011.”

The 86 certified organic farms comprise 7,497 acres of land. Fifty-four percent, or 4,016 acres, is cropland, and 3,481 is in pasture. An additional 289 acres are transitioning to organic production on certified farms.

In Kentucky, 50 percent of the farms sold at least some products directly to consumers, via farm stands, farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs), and other arrangements. Twenty-six percent sold to retail or food service, and 58 percent of farms used wholesale markets to distribute their products. Eighteen farms sold products through a CSA.

Of the 86 operators, 47 percent have been farm-ing less than 10 years, and 56 percent have grown or raised certified organic products less than five years. Forty farms plan to increase production during the next five years and 31 expect to main-tain production.

The 2015 Certified Organic Production Report provides acreage, production and sales data for a variety of certified organic crops, and inventory and sales data for certified organic livestock com-modities. The 2015 Certified Organic Production Survey included all known farm operators who produced certified organic crops and/or livestock.

To learn more about this and other NASS surveys and corresponding data in Kentucky, visit https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Kentucky/. To sign up to be counted in the Census and other surveys, visit https://www.agcounts.usda.gov/cgi-bin/counts/.

KY conferences to focus on solving hunger, farm successionThe Race to Solve Hunger in Kentucky will be the theme of the 2016 Kentucky Women in Agriculture Conference, to be held on October 24th-25th at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY. Speakers will include Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles and Warren Beeler, director of the Governor’s Office of Ag Policy. The second day of the conference will feature volunteer work toward solving hunger in the commonwealth. For more information and to register, visit http://kywom-eninag.com/annual-conference.html.

The 2016 Small, Limited-Resource, Minority Farmers Conference at Kentucky State University in Frankfort will focus on Land, Legacy, and Way of Life. Presentations at the conference, to be held November 15th through 17th, will include sensible succession, the value of keeping the family farm, farm risk management, USDA-Rural Develop-ment energy and business programs, and farmer success stories. For details, click here.