What in the heck is a Farm Number? And more importantly, why should someone get one? A Farm Number is a unique numeric identifier that can be registered to your parcel of land by the Farm Service Agency (FSA), a subdivision of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). Farm Numbers are often compared to a Social Security Number for land. Most folks obtain farm numbers for the immediate benefit of getting tax exemptions, however having a Farm Number is a requirement for applying to almost all state and federal cost-sharing programs related to agricultural projects and land improvement. As such, a Farm Number can open doors for both seasoned and beginner farmers, as well as landowners to expand their relationship with their land.
On January 16th 2025, LiKEN Knowledge in cooperation with the Farm Service Agency, Leslie County Extension Office, Leslie County Soil Conservation, National Resource Conservation Services, and Grow Appalachia hosted its first event in Leslie County: a Farm Number Registration Clinic. Despite weeks of inclement weather rendering many of the holler roads still inaccessible, a combination of the increase in temperature and perhaps even a bit of county-wide cabin fever compelled 29 people to come out and see what we were up to between 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Amid the convivial and instructional atmosphere, 8 of the participants signed up for Farm Numbers, a figure which bodes well for the future of local agriculture in Leslie County, as well as the reception of LiKEN’s Community Wealth initiative in the county.
I think the event was a great success both in terms of deliverables for the grant but also just in terms of purely networking. It was wonderful to see our work being so well received and the interest from the wider community, but it was also great to see the people that I work with from LiKEN’s Lexington Office and further afield connecting with local foresters, NRCS agents, Extension agents, and Grow Appalachia representatives working in the county. I am very excited for the future of our work here.
Image caption: (top left) LiKEN staff gathered with Extension Agent Michelle Brock and Grow Appalachia staffer Faye Adams-Eaton to who came to talk about Grow Appalachia's Garden Program; (top middle) Michelle and Steve Kruger talk next to a table of non-timber forest products; (top right) Leslie County Soil Conservation staff member Connie Sizemore speaks with Leslie County residents; (bottom left) a convivial atmosphere; (bottom middle) me (Matthew Sparks) with a brand new LiKEN banner; (bottom right) Steve Kruger speaking with NRCS agent JD Prater.
Other LiKEN representatives present at the Clinic included Steve Kruger, Director of Forest Livelihoods; Kevin Slovinsky, Director of Land and Revenues; and Sandra Hunt, Family Assistance Coordinator. We were all particularly impressed by Sandra’s combination of legal and technological prowess in being able to locate and print PVA maps (required for the farm number application) in a matter of minutes for applicants. This was invaluable during a period of high volume traffic after 5:00 PM. Although the County Courthouse was already closed, Sandra was able to use the online website Kentucky Land Records to print all of the necessary documents for participants. .
We were joined by representatives from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (JD Prater), Leslie County Soil Conservation (Connie Sizemore), Grow Appalachia (Faye Adams-Eaton), Leslie County Cooperative Extension (Michelle Brock), and, of course, the Farm Service Agency (Kendra Moore).
Grow Appalachia, a non-profit organization aiming to combat food insecurity and promote local agriculture by supplying individual farmers with a variety of free resources and services (such as seeds, equipment, soil testing, fertilizer, and more) also had tremendous success with participant recruitment in Leslie County for their Garden Grants Program. Of particular interest to residents was the installation of “High Tunnels," a more cost-effective alternative to greenhouses that can extend the growing season of many crops by several weeks.
“I think there were a lot of informative people there who can really help our locals in any farming endeavor that they could imagine.” Said Connie Sizemore, Leslie County Soil Conservation secretary. “Whether you want to do woodland farming, or if you want to get a farm number to apply for grants to increase your productivity—to have more produce to sell at the farmer’s market, there were people there that could answer your questions.”
These sentiments were also shared by participants. According to Amanda Ringelspaugh of Wild Child Apothecary LLC, “It was amazing! I learned a lot and I didn’t know that there was that much help out there for us. I want everyone to know that there is help out there!” Another participant who received a Farm Number, Tammy Smith, told us “I just didn’t know how many programs there were out there. If more people knew, there would probably be more people getting involved.”
Suffice to say, LiKEN’s first event in Leslie County was a success by many metrics. While some left with Farm Numbers, all left with many more resources at their disposal to expand their relationship with their land. The best, we certainly hope, is yet to come!
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