Community members gathered on the Harold R. Benson Research and Demonstration Farm
on July 17 for the Third Thursday Thing program, a monthly sustainable agriculture workshop.
This month鈥檚 workshop topics focused on cattle and poultry presented by Dr. Abbigail
Hines, Mike Wilson, and Dr. Frederick Bebe.
Participants from throughout the Commonwealth attend the workshops, with some attendees
regularly coming nearly every month to expand their knowledge and skillset.
David Miller is one such individual who has been coming to Third Thursday programs
since 2008.
鈥淚 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鈥� I feel like every time I come, there鈥檚 something
that I could learn鈥�,鈥� said Miller.
David Neville, a 91传媒 alumnus and owner of Capstone Farms, is
another regular attendee of the program who appreciates the opportunity to not only
learn new information, but also to connect with others and share ideas.
鈥淚 have varied interest and so I attend, not every one, 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鈥檛 get
to see but once every six months, so it鈥檚 a relationship building thing for me,鈥� said
Neville. 鈥淭his is a good way to get out of your head and talk to other folks in terms
of how they鈥檙e using [information] or how we can put it into practice on our own farms.鈥�
Third Thursday Thing started as a training program for extension agents in 1997 and
has since expanded to include members of the community. Today, Third Thursday Thing
covers a wide variety of topics throughout the year with the goal to improve the sustainability
of agriculture for Kentucky鈥檚 small, beginner, and limited-resource farmers. Workshops
are held on the third Thursday of each month except December.
For more information about Third Thursday Thing, contact Edwin Chavous at edwin.chavous@kysu.edu.