KyCorn Secretary Richard Preston was the featured speaker at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) learning series last night, where he spoke on technology and change in farming.
Richard was plucked out of Hardin County as a young man to study science in the mid 60s and 70s, earned a post doctorate in theoretical chemistry from UC Berkeley, and eventually worked at Los Alamos National Laboratories as an energy physicist. The goal, however, was to save enough money from his career to start farming back in Kentucky. He achieved that dream in 1979, since his first dream of becoming a major league baseball player was not realized.
Richard talked about using his science know-how to research economic and environmental sustainability solutions on the farm and noted the best farming/conservation achievements in Kentucky in the last 50 years: no-till and precision agriculture. He also talked about issues farmers face to be profitable, and answered several questions from the audience relating to environmental health.
Thank you, Richard, for educating your community.