Our Team
The Center for Crop Diversification is managed through a collaboration between the Department of Agricultural Economics and the Department of Horticulture at the University of Kentucky. We also partner with a wide variety of regional and national individuals and organizations.
Christy Cassady Extension Specialist, Horticulture
Christy writes, edits and designs Center publications, handles administrative duties, and fields questions from extension agents and growers about a variety of specialty crops. She is focused on expanding the Center's regional presence, developing new specialty crop resources, and coordinating revision of the Center's existing resources. She holds B.S. degrees in Agriculture and Plant and Soil Science from the University of Kentucky, a B.A. in Journalism from Western Kentucky University, and an M.A. in Journalism from Indiana University.
Contact Christy via email at cgcass0@uky.edu or by phone at 859-257-5635.
Savannah Columbia, Extenson Associate, Agricultural Economics
Savannah Columbia is interested in Agribusiness Management and Marketing, as well as Horticultural Enterprises with a specific emphasis on Community Supported Agriculture and Local Food Supply Chains. Before joining the Agricultural Economics Department, Savannah was the Assistant Director of Farm Services for AgTech Scientific LLC, a 38-acre automated greenhouse which specialized in hemp and annual flower production in Paris, Kentucky. Savannah has also spent multiple years working with community supported agriculture operations and local food production systems. She specializes in direct to consumer marketing, crop production operations, and on-farm efficiency. Savannah joined the University in July of 2020 and is currently working on updating the MarketReady resources and creating materials to support Kentucky's producers.
Contact Savannah via email at savannah.columbia@uky.edu or by phone at 859-218-4383.
Camille Dant Extension Associate, Agricultural Economics
Camille Dant hails from Nelson County, KY and has lived in Lexington since 2015. She received her Bachelors of Science in Agricultural Economics with a minor in Business Management in December of 2018 from the University of Kentucky. Camille grew up working on her family farm which sparked her interest in agriculture. Before joining the extension team, Camille worked as a claims processor focusing on cotton and grain sorghum production in the southern United States.
Camille specializes in the Dairy MarketReady program working with the Food System’s Innovation Center. She will also be working with the Digital Center for Risk Management Education meeting risk management training needs for direct market/short supply chain producers.
Contact Camille via email at camille.dant@uky.edu or by phone at 859-257-3482
Joshua Knight Senior Extension Associate, Horticulture
Joshua Knight graduated in the Spring of 2013 with a B.S. in Sustainable Agriculture from the Horticulture Department at the University of Kentucky. In the years before, during and after his undergraduate coursework, Josh worked on farms using agro-ecological practices to supply direct markets in central Florida, northern and southern Georgia, western New Mexico, southern Japan, in addition to farms across central and eastern Kentucky. Prior to his agricultural career, Josh worked in the Information Technology sector of central Florida for six years, acquiring skills in web development, graphic design, and communication technologies. In Fall 2018, Josh finished an M.S. in Integrated Plant and Soil Science focused on Carbon and Water Footprint Analysis and was awarded a graduate certificate in Digital Mapping. He is currently focused on using technology to develop visual resources and interactive tools for growers to plan and make production decisions.
Contact Josh via email at joshua.knight@uky.edu or by phone at 859-257-1273
Emily Spencer Extension Associate, Agricultural Economics
I work as a technical assistance provider to farmers across the state of Kentucky. I work to improve small farm revenue and overall business functions by providing training on various marketing aspects. I present to large groups and conduct 1-on-1 site visits with farms. Additionally, I am currently working on a project in which I am conducting in-depth qualitative interviews in which I talk to farmers about specific business functions of their farms. This video series will be used as a training tool for other farms around the state.
Contact Emily via email at emilyspencer@uky.edu or by phone at 859-218-5212.
Brett Wolff Senior Extension Specialist, Agricultural Economics
I coordinate the Center for Crop Diversification and SARE programs. I have written, managed, and reported on over $600,000 in federal, regional, and state grant programs, and I have been a named partner on grant projects valued over $2 million since 2014. I spearheaded the redesign, build, and maintenance of this large, organizationally complex Extension website. After this redesign the site has seen steady growth in content and traffic, with over 300,000 users and over 1.5 million page views since 2016. I was presented the UK Outstanding Staff Award, as nominated by a co-worker and was named the 2020 Staff Member of the Year for the University of Kentucky. In 2021, I received the Dr. Lisa P. Collins Outstanding Staff Award in the College of Agriculture Food and Environment. Since 2017 I have led the development and delivery of the innovative Marketing for All educational program, which won the 2022 “Outstanding Program” award from the Kentucky Association of State Extension Professionals (KASEP).
Contact Brett via email at brett.wolff@uky.edu or by phone at 859-218-4384.
Dr. Tim Woods Extension Professor, Agricultural Economics
Dr. Woods specializes in agribusiness management and marketing with special emphasis on horticulture, food business development, consumer and direct markets, and farm entrepreneurship. He leads the MarketReady: a training program designed to educate specialty crop producers on best business practices associated with selling to grocery, restaurant, wholesale, and other institutional markets. He is also a member of the UK Food Systems Innovation Center, and is currently working on a project entitled Going to the Farm-acy: The Effect of CSA-Backed Produce Prescriptions on Eating Behaviors and Health Outcomes in Rural Kentucky. You can find his full professional profile here.
Contact Tim via email at tim.woods@uky.edu or by phone at 859-257-7270.
Contact Information: savannah.columbia@uky.edu or (859) 218-4383