Through a century of serving Kentuckians, the University of Kentucky Research and Extension Center at Princeton (UKREC) has built a vital relationship with the community that is beneficial and meaningful for all involved.
"We can't serve Kentucky without hearing from our agriculture agents and our farmers," said UKREC director Carrie Knott. "That special relationship that Princeton faculty have always had with farmers and with ag agents has made this a very special place."
Colette Laurent, extension associate for grain crops, said the farmers and UK Cooperative Extension Service agents "invest in us as much as we invest in them."
The culture of UKREC allows anyone to drop by, find the specialists they need and work toward solutions together. One of the biggest benefits, Knott said, is that 10 units are housed at the center, from beef cattle to tobacco.
"We're able to walk down the hall and build a multidisciplinary team to look at a problem," Knott said. "I think that's what makes us so special and so effective in the state."
"Become like family"
Many of the farmers who work closely with UKREC become close friends with the personnel there; some, Knott said, even "become like family."
Often, farmers today inherited a relationship with UKREC from their family - like Firmon Milton Cook IV, whose father worked with UKREC's Lloyd Murdock for decades. Murdock, extension soils specialist and professor emeritus, and the elder Cook, who died in 2018, shared a love for agronomy and completed research projects together.
"He loved the land," Milton said of his father. "He was very passionate about that. He enjoyed people enjoying it with him."
Milton, planning for a career on the family farm, got his plant and soil sciences degree from UK in 1998. UKREC has continued to be a "very accessible" resource for his Princeton farm, where he produces corn, wheat, soybeans and cattle.
"Their research is indicative of what our row crop farmers are going to experience here," Milton said. "That's got a tremendous value."
Sam Halcomb, a grain farmer in Logan County, grew up going to UKREC with his father, Don.
"There's a wonderful relationship between the UK researchers and the farmers within Kentucky," Halcomb said. "They really work well together and can utilize similar resources and get some great results."
Don, who died in 2019, coordinated with Murdock, plant and soil sciences professor Dave Van Sanford and others to help create the Grain and Forage Center for Excellence at UKREC with the purpose of helping Kentucky farmers feed the world sustainably and expanding the Kentucky economy.
"They really wanted to invest in Princeton and make it a coveted spot for the best and brightest research minds to come and work," Sam said.
In March 2018, a white oak tree at the Halcomb farm fell during a storm. Sam remembers his father immediately saying, "We're going to make something out of that." Soon after, while talking with UKREC personnel about Grain and Forage Center plans, Don promised a white oak table for the center's conference room.
His sons have worked to fulfill that promise. The white oak lumber aged for many years, and the table is now under construction - as is the new Grain and Forage Center for Excellence, since the original building was destroyed in the 2021 tornado.
When both are completed, the white oak table will serve as a gathering place in the Halcomb Family Meeting Room.
"I think of the legacy of my dad and the first thing that comes to mind is continual learning," Sam said. "I think he'd be very proud of what's going on here in Princeton right now."
"Humbling" help after disaster
In the days following an EF-4 tornado that devastated the area, many nearby farmers gave time and resources to aid in UKREC's recovery.
Trevor Gilkey was born and raised in Princeton and now produces corn, wheat, soybeans, tobacco, hemp and cattle on a farm about a mile away from UKREC. After his family and farm emerged from the tornado unscathed, Gilkey turned his attention to helping others, including UKREC. He hauled water for UKREC's cattle, and he spent several days using his excavator to help clear debris, meeting one of the center's immediate needs.
Chad Lee, director of the Grain and Forage Center for Excellence, said that "being a good neighbor" resonates with Gilkey.
"They would have done the same thing for me if the shoe was on the other foot," Gilkey said.
Joseph Sisk, a row crop farmer in Christian County, asked Gilkey who needed help and brought additional equipment to UKREC.
Sisk, a UK animal sciences graduate, has worked with UKREC personnel throughout his farming career and said the center shows a great level of commitment by the University of Kentucky to that part of the state. He said the tornado damage there was indescribable.
"The emotional response to it was that you wanted to help because it was so extreme," Sisk said.
Knott remembers many people who saw the damage, stopped at the property and said, "How can I help?" With so much happening and so many people who helped, Knott said she knows there are "many unsung heroes."
"It's just humbling to realize how important we are, that people, some from great distances, are coming to help us in our time of need," she said.
That important relationship is present not just during disaster but in ordinary times, too - like when Knott takes a walk around the property or when farmers tell her the center is helping them keep farming.
"A driving force"
Princeton Mayor Brock Thomas said he has "had the pleasure" of attending many events at UKREC and that its employees are "valued community members."
"It is a driving force for Princeton, and the work they do impacts the world," Thomas said.
Knott said she hopes to further expand the center's impact.
"We're hoping that we can continue to engage the local community in this county, but also statewide, to let people know that we're here to support," she said.
To learn more about the UK Research and Education Center at Princeton, visit https://ukrec.ca.uky.edu/.
