Kentucky State University's (KYSU) Cooperative Extension Program has been working to develop resources to provide educational assistance to small-scale farms for many years. Partnering with the Kentucky Agriculture Development Board, KYSU manages a grant program that provides funding to small-scale farmers across Kentucky who are motivated to improve their farming operations, to improve the marketability of their products with value-added enterprise, or who need assistance with specific educational trainings. This program has allowed KYSU to impact hundreds of small farmers throughout the state.
Three Silos Farm in Hillsboro features an authentic barn that serves as an event space where Andrew Mitchell and Amy Hinton host weddings and special occasions. What makes the farm special is its food and flowers that are grown on site and prepared for authentic farm to table meals. Mitchell and Hinton had a dream to turn their small, crowded, repurposed milk parlor kitchen into a commercial grade kitchen that would allow them to cater the events hosted on their farm with produce from their own gardens. They received a generous gift from a relative, all the equipment needed to make their dream a reality, however, they had no building space to hold all the kitchen equipment. With no extra money to upgrade and build on to the existing space, they applied for the KYSU Small-Scale Farm Grant.
With funds from the grant they were able to construct a nearly 300-square-foot kitchen to house all their commercial kitchen equipment. This addition has allowed them to serve more meals, use more produce, and grow more to supply for their increased demand. The once underused kitchen is now used nearly constantly to cater on farm events with food fresh from their farm.
Without this grant Three Silos Farm may not have been as successful as it is now, "There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not deeply grateful to Kentucky State for giving me the grant and helping me to actually make a living on this farm," Hinton says.
goes by that I’m not deeply grateful to Kentucky State for giving me the grant and helping me to actually make a living on this farm,” Hinton says.
For more information and to apply for the Kentucky State University Small-Scale Farm Grant, visit: kysu.edu/ssfg or contact Joni Nelson: joni.nelson@kysu.edu or (502) 597-6831.
It is estimated that food travels an average of 1,500 miles from farm to plate in the U.S. The Farm to Plate movement is the result of consumers seeking out locally sourced foods, boosting the local economy, supporting local farmers and decreasing the distance food travels.
Amy Hinton and Andrew Mitchell, owners of Three Silos Farm in Hillsboro in Fleming County, received a Small-Scale Farm Grant from Kentucky State University. The funding allowed them to construct a kitchen space to hose commercial equipment that allow them to offer on-site catering for their event space.
51% of all land in Kentucky is farmland, and over 57% of the farms in Kentucky are small, family-owned operations.