Frontier Extension District outlines upcoming agriculture programs, precision-agriculture event

Frontier Extension District staff provided the Franklin County Commission an update on Jan. 8 about upcoming agriculture and natural-resources programming, including a four-part succession-planning series and plans for a precision-agriculture event developed with Kansas State faculty and the Institute for Digital Agriculture and Advanced Analytics (ID3A).

The extension representative (first name not specified) said a land-values-and-leases program was scheduled that evening and that the four-part succession series, titled "Leaving a Legacy for Midwestern Farm Women," will be held in Overbrook; the speaker said the program is open to all but is targeted in subject matter toward farm women. The succession series will cover motivation for succession planning, communication about estate and transition planning, financial aspects of estate and transfer plans, and legal aspects of putting plans in place. A $60 registration fee will cover a meal and program materials.

Extension staff also described plans developed with local program-development committee members and Kansas State University faculty for a large precision-agriculture conference expected to draw participants from multiple states. Potential topics for that event include historical developments in ag technology, artificial intelligence and precision application, spray drones, pasture management, virtual-fencing livestock systems, health monitoring, and cost-benefit analysis of precision-ag tools. Staff said the event would likely run all day with an evening dinner and vendor exhibits; a date had not been set at the Jan. 8 meeting.

Extension staff invited county residents to stop by the Frontier Extension office for Zoom links and registration information and said they will provide quarterly updates to the commission about extension programming.