agriculture

A new program at a western Kentucky high school aims to teach teens what it takes to raise cattle for food production, taking Hopkins County agriculture students from the classroom to the corral and, even, the butcher counter.

While some Kentucky schools and businesses shut their doors during and after the storm, farmers still had to go to work. Dealing with winter weather is a necessary part of farming in order to keep crops and livestock growing.

Senate Bill 5, sponsored by Sen. Jason Howell, would create a legal pathway for school boards and districts to purchase “Kentucky-grown agricultural products.”

A provision in the government funding bill that will limit the amount of THC in hemp-derived products to 0.4 milligrams per container starting in November 2026 is leaving farmers and business owners scrambling to adjust their operations and stay afloat.

Over multiple school years, Northwest High School teacher Megan Clegg developed an unused outdoor classroom space into a small livestock operation with lambs, steer, rabbits and bees on site, allowing students to get their hands dirty and experience a working farm.

A Kentucky nonprofit is hoping to help farmers across the commonwealth struggling with mental health.

For Bailey and his colleagues, nearly a century of growth and research helping western Kentucky farmers improve yields, conserve land and provide a welcoming space was thrown into complete disarray from the December tornado outbreak.

A Carlisle County farm is a finalist for a state conservation award recognizing farmers, ranchers and forestland owners dedicated to land, water and wildlife habitat conservation on private working lands.

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles said the Commonwealth’s farming industry has always been diversified. But the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement put changes on the farm into a much higher gear.

At issue is a 1975 California law that allows union organizers limited access to farms so they can seek support from workers in forming a union.