Scenario 1: Mind Your Money Program

Scenario 2: Rowland Stay Up Program

Scenario 3: Marlon Soybean Outreach

Most families and adults in Gregson County have little to no personal savings available to endure financial emergencies. A recent community survey reported that two in three families in Gregson lack any type of emergency savings and 63% of adults live paycheck to paycheck. The situation is very dire for limited resource families in the county, with 80% reporting that they live paycheck to paycheck and are overburdened with debt.

Rowland County exhibits the fourth-highest drug overdose death rate in the state. In a 2024 survey of local middle school students, roughly 45% reported they have been tempted, at least once in the school year, to smoke, drink, or use an illicit substance. Moreover, 40% reported knowing at least one student in their school who skips classes regularly because of substance use. In addition, 57% reported lack of motivation to complete schoolwork.

Marlon County boasts about 400 small- to mid-scale soybean farms generating approximately $22 million per year (Marlon Department of Agriculture, 2022). The Marlon County Soybean Board conducted a needs assessment that revealed the need for research-based information on integrated pest and weed management practices to help farmers reduce diseases and pests and increase yield and profitability.

Scenario 1: Mind Your Money Program

Scenario 2: Rowland Stay Up Program

Scenario 3: Marlon Soybean Outreach

Gregson County FCS Extension agent, with participant recruitment support from the Gregson County Family Financial Wellness Coalition, delivered Mind Your Money(MYM), an evidence-based curriculum, to a group of Head Start parents. MYM teaches limited-resource adults the skills needed to make informed financial decisions and adopt financial behaviors that can have positive effects on their financial well-being. Program activities occurred over 16 weeks and included weekly MYM workshop sessions, two field trips to a local bank, and hands-on budgeting activities.

Rowland County Extension collaborated with three local middle schools to deliver Stay Up, an after-school positive youth development program for middle school students. The local Rotary Club provided a $2,000 grant to support program implementation. Program components included group activities that teach substance use prevention and refusal skills, sports and leisure education, and life skills (e.g., decision making, goal sequencing, problem solving, and conflict resolution).

Marlon County ANR agent invited Dr. J. Doe, an Extension Specialist, to deliver a 2-hour in-person training session on best strategies for preventing soybean weed and pest infestation. The training was followed by a field day where Dr. Doe demonstrated best practices in sustainable weed and pest management to the farmers. The ANR agent and specialist also provided the farmers with research-based information and resources to support effective, environmentally responsible management of soybean pests.

Scenario 1: Mind Your Money Program

Scenario 2: Rowland Stay Up Program

Scenario 3: Marlon Soybean Outreach

One hundred (100) Head Start parents (male = 55 and female = 45) completed the program. The program also trained 25 volunteers who supported the FCS agent and specialists in program delivery.

One hundred and twenty-five (135) students across three local middle schools (45 students per school) participated in Stay Up.

Eighty-seven (87) soybean farmers, including twenty (20) from the Amish community, participated in the Marlon County Soybean program.

Outcomes

Scenario 1: Mind Your Money Program

Scenario 2: Rowland Stay Up Program

Scenario 3: Marlon Soybean Outreach

Short-Term Outcomes

Program evaluation results showed gains in participants’ knowledge of personal finance concepts. Specifically, 92% of participants increased their knowledge of how to write a monthly budget and 95% improved in their understanding of credit card interest rates and fees.

Results indicated that 95% of participants increased their knowledge of the harmful effects of substance use and 93% reported an increase in their knowledge of academic goal setting. Moreover, 90% of the participants reported increased awareness of the benefits of physical and leisure activities.

Program evaluation results indicate that the program was a worthwhile learning experience for the farmers. All the participating farmers (100%) reported that the training increased their awareness of pest resistant varieties, 93% increased their knowledge of soybean pest identification, and 95% gained enhanced knowledge of safe pesticides handling practices.

Medium-Term Outcomes

A 6-month follow-up survey indicated that 96% of 88 respondents have consistently developed monthly spending plans since participating in the program. About 93% have implemented their monthly spending plans; 90% reported that they now pay their bills on time. One respondent to the follow-up survey commented that the program was “the first time they had the opportunity to learn how to manage their money” and that they plan “to teach my children these skills I never had the opportunity to learn when I was their age.”

A three-month follow-up evaluation was conducted to understand academic and substance use behavior change. One hundred and fifteen (115) of the participants responded to the follow-up survey. About 80% reported increased substance use refusal skills; 89% reported improved study habits (e.g., completing and submitting school assignments by deadlines) and 91% reported increased participation in physical activity and family leisure activities.

During the growing season, Marlon County ANR agents contacted 55 of the 87 participating farmers via phone calls, farm visits, and email to check the extent to which they implemented the IPM strategies discussed at the training. The results showed that 80% (44 out of 55) integrated biological control into their soybean weed management practices and 95% (52 out of 55) grew pest resistant varieties. Among the respondents, chemical use decreased by an average of 33%.

Long-Term Outcomes

A one-year follow-up with program participants showed positive changes in their financial situations. Approximately 75% of respondents reported that they have saved at least $1000 for financial emergencies and 80% reported improvements in their credit scores.

Year-end analyses of attendance and assessment records conducted by school partners indicate positive program impacts.  At the end of the school year, school attendance records indicated decreased truancy and unexcused absence among Stay Up participants. Also, School assessment records showed that the average GPA of Stay Up program participants was about 20% higher than the previous year, before their participation in program. Moreover, comparative analyses conducted by school partners found that Stay Upparticipants’ GPA was about 0.65 points (about 12% difference) higher than the GPA of a matched sample of non-participants.

Based on existing research, the 44 farmers who adopted the weed control practices taught at the training are expected to have increased yield and profit. In the absence of any weed management tactics, soybean yield would be reduced because of weed interference by about 52% (Soltani et al, 2017)[1]. In Kentucky, this translates to soybean loss prevention of about 29 bushel/acre (given an average yield of 56 bushels/acre in KY). With the price of soybean at $16/bushel and average farm size of 120 acres, these weed management efforts are estimated to result in an average savings of $55,680 per farmer and total savings of $2,449,920 for the 44 farmers.