Kentucky Corn has partnered with Precision Conservation Management for nearly a decade. This Earth Day, we’re reflecting on what that partnership has built — and where it’s growing.

When Precision Conservation Management launched in Illinois in 2015, Kentucky was the first state to jump on board and bring this free data-centered service to farmers.

Since then, Kentucky Corn’s partnership with PCM has grown from the first region in western Kentucky to a recent expansion into central Kentucky that puts PCM’s field-level data analysis within reach of even more grain farmers across the state.

It’s a partnership worth recognizing this Earth Day because of the value it has delivered on the ground, one farm at a time, for nearly a decade.

Where It Started: Western Kentucky

PCM’s Kentucky roots run through the Purchase, Lower Cumberland, and Lower Green River regions of western Kentucky.

PCM Specialist Chris Stewart has been serving farmers in this region for nearly 10 years. Chris brings a background that’s anything but typical: a 20-year Army career, including helicopter flight service, followed by volunteer work with the Natural Resource Conservation Service helping farmers establish practices to stop erosion and soil loss. 

Chris works with farmers across 10 counties to help them make financially grounded conservation decisions using their own farm data, with long-term stewardship as the goal. His approach reflects what PCM does at its core: connect what’s good for the land to what’s good for the operation.

Growing the Work: Central Kentucky

Last year, PCM expanded into central Kentucky with the help of the Kentucky Distillers Association.

Daniel Carpenter serves this new territory as PCM’s Conservation Specialist for the Bourbon Region, working directly with grain farmers to improve both environmental outcomes and farm profitability. He holds a bachelor’s degree in plant and soil science from the University of Kentucky and a master’s in agriculture from Western Kentucky University. He brings more than a decade of agricultural education and extension experience alongside seven years in direct-to-farmer sales and service.

Daniel believes in practical, science-backed, economically sound decision-making, which makes PCM a natural fit. He was even recently named Master Conservationist in his county because of the conservation work he has done on his own farm!

A Decade of Commitment

Conservation partnerships are easy to announce. They’re harder to sustain.

Kentucky Corn’s commitment to PCM over nearly a decade — and its decision to grow that commitment into a new region — says something meaningful about what the program has delivered for Kentucky farmers. 

The work continues this season, in fields across western and central Kentucky, with two specialists, hundreds of enrolled acres, and the same mission it started with: helping farmers make conservation decisions that are good for their land and good for their bottom line.

That’s something worth celebrating this Earth Day.

Connect with your regional PCM specialist to learn more or enroll at PrecisionConservation.org/farmers

Western Kentucky — Chris Stewart: cstewart@precisionconservation.org · 270-205-2258

Central Kentucky (Bourbon Region) — Daniel Carpenter: dcarpenter@precisionconservation.org · 270-763-7363