I am excited to present the 2021 edition of AgKnowledge magazine, an annual publication of Kentucky State University's Land Grant Program, including its College of Agriculture, Community, and the Sciences and the Cooperative Extension and Research Programs. This annual magazine is designed to highlight the research and Extension activities our faculty and staff are conducting at Kentucky State University.

It would be easy to look back at 2020 and the start of 2021 and focus only on what should have been. The last year was very difficult, with the devastating losses of lives and jobs. Kentucky continues to face challenges of inequities of income and healthcare. Many communities face challenges of food insecurity, lack of access to nutritious food, and poor access to information to improve health and wellness. After the challenges of this past year, I feel we are called to deepen our commitment to help address the inequities in food security, health and wellness, and economic opportunities.

I am proud that faculty, staff and students have risen to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The great work that goes on here has continued, often in alternative forms that required extra commitment and ingenuity from everyone involved.

As always, the Land Grant Program’s faculty, staff and students have concentrated on research and Extension programming to serve the stakeholders of the Commonwealth, with an emphasis on serving minority and limited-resource populations in rural and urban settings. Within this magazine, you’ll read about the newly renovated, state-of-the-art Atwood Research Facility; about thousands of pounds of produce donated to organizations and people in need; about how Kentucky State Small-Scale Farm Grants have helped the community; and more.

We don’t know what the next year will bring. But we do know we will continue to build valuable partnerships with community and government organizations, and we will promote our programs to prospective students and collaborators.

And we will continue to serve you, our stakeholders. Please give us your feedback and let us know how we can help you solve your problems. Follow us on social media—@kysuag on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram—and visit us on the web at kysu.edu to keep up with our day-to-day activities in communities near you. We can’t wait to work with you.

Thanks again for reading and we hope you find the information provided in this magazine to be useful and enjoyable. If you have questions, please call (502) 597-6566 or email kysuag@gmail.com.

Kirk Pomper, Ph.D. Land Grant Director and Dean of the College of Agriculture, Community, and the Sciences Kentucky State University