Black Soil KY Bolsters Kentucky’s Black Farmers and Elevates the Community
In partnership with: Kentucky Department of Agriculture
When Ashley Smith left her previous career in grant writing and engagement, she found her calling in agriculture. Specifically, helping Kentucky’s Black farmers expand their market share, opportunities, and connection to the industry through her nonprofit Black Soil KY.
“I was brand new to agriculture, but I knew about the Kentucky Proud program and how it provided a touchpoint for farmers in the state,” Smith said. “I started attending city hall meetings in Lexington and was shocked by the missed opportunities there were for Black farmers.”
Not only were there missed opportunities, but it seemed like an entire community was being overlooked entirely.
“Sometimes our existence wasn’t even acknowledged,” Smith said. “I heard a lot of ‘Black people don’t farm,’ or ‘We don’t know about farming.’ Black Soil KY provides a solution in that space.”
See more: Top Kentucky Agriculture Facts From the 2024 Census of Agriculture
Rooted in Resilience
Smith established the nonprofit in 2017 with a mission to offer agritourism opportunities, education and outreach, event management, strategic partnerships, and more to the state’s Black farmers. Of the 69,100 farms in Kentucky, only 1.4 percent are owned by Black farmers. Black Soil KY helps create a greater market share and awareness for them.
“We really needed to move people from curiosity to customers,” Smith said. “We started off by using agritourism as that vehicle with farm tours and farm dinners that physically showed people what Black farmers were doing.”
When the pandemic hit, Smith said they pivoted to moving producers into the urban communities instead of the other way around.
“We’ve utilized education outreach and technical assistance that the state offers, like Kentucky Proud, Homegrown by Heroes, and Appalachia Proud, to help enhance producers’ operations,” she said.
Black Soil KY also focuses on training, teaching Black farmers market readiness, and overcoming gaps in skills and knowledge.
“We want to help a farmer learn how to harvest safely or learn the best practices and industry standards,” she said.
Market Mentors
Cleav’s Family Market is one operation that has benefitted greatly from Black Soil KY. The Lexington farm is a family operation run by Heather Cooper and Travis Cleaver. They raise cows, pigs, poultry, and layers, or chickens raised for eggs, as well as a variety of produce, including tomatoes, onions, melons, and more.
“We met Ashley in 2018 and started collaborating with Black Soil KY then,” Cleaver said. “Partnering with them has allowed us to get our produce and meats into restaurants, homes, food deserts, and underserved communities across Kentucky.”
Smith said agritourism will always be a core value of Black Soil KY, and Cleav’s embraces that as well, offering mentorship programs to inner-city kids.
“We’ve worked with a mentorship program through the Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development,” Cleaver said. “Hosting kids on the farm allows them to experience where their food comes from and is great for connecting Black youth to the industry.”
See more: Kentucky’s Top 10 Agricultural Products
Data Driven
Since its inception, Smith anchors a lot of Black Soil KY’s success in the Census of Agriculture data, which shows how much Black farming has grown over the years.
“The 2022 profile in the Census of Agriculture was resounding in our progress,” she said. “The largest growth of women farmers came in the Black sector, and we grew a lot in terms of the younger generation as well.”
As for the future of Black Soil KY, she said they plan to invite farmers in all 120 counties to reach out and continue creating market share. They’re planning retail brick-and-mortar stores in Lexington and even have a mobile farmers’ market to use as a teaching tool.
“We’re hosting 17 states during the State of Soil, our inaugural conference that celebrates the rich and vibrant Black soil of American agriculture,” she said.
To learn more about Black Soil KY’s mission, visit blacksoilky.com, and check out cleavsfamilymarket.com for more about Cleav’s Family Market.