FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 18, 2002
Contact: Kara Keeton, Communications Director
Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy
(502) 564-4627

$597,593.37 Invested in Kentucky Agricultural Diversification

The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board, chaired by Governor Paul Patton, approved $597,593.37 in agricultural diversification projects across the Commonwealth at the monthly Board Meeting on November 15th. The board was established to oversee the Agricultural Development Fund that was created by the 2000 General Assembly using half of Kentucky's tobacco settlement revenues.

$50,000 Kentucky Association Of Second Harvest Food Banks

Kentucky Association of Second Harvest Food Banks received $50,000 in state funds to establish a pilot program to purchase surplus produce from Kentucky producers. Funds will be used to purchase refrigerators and freezers for participating food banks to allow and enable efficient distribution of food, which is currently not feasible as the food banks' storage is geared towards non-perishable canned goods. Kentucky producers will have another viable market for their products, and the produce will be used to provide emergency food assistance for those in need.

$105,000 Shady Lane Poultry Farm, Inc.

Shady Lane Poultry Farm, Inc. received $104,000 in state funds and $ 1,000 in Clark County funds to construct a poultry hatchery to provide Kentucky producers with a local source for a full line of quality, specialty breed poultry chicks. The breeds will be developed to meet local market demands and allow Kentucky producers to differentiate their products. Initially three farm families will be contracted to produce eggs for the hatchery and plans are to expand production by adding six more producers by the third year.

$15,000 Shelby County Chamber of Commerce

The Shelby County Chamber of Commerce received $15,000 of Shelby County funds for a Farm Family Continuing Education Program to teach producers skills that enhance the farming operation and/or make them more qualified for non-farm employment. Active agricultural producers, full and part-time, will qualify for the program. Producers will be reimbursed fifty percent of their course costs, excluding books, after successful completion of the course.

$9,300 Owensboro Community College

Owensboro Community College received $9,300 in county funds to expand the Agriculture Technology Program by building a greenhouse facility for students and adult with emphasis on enhanced value added agronomic practices. Three counties contributed to the Owensboro Community College project including $5,300 from Daviess County, $2,500 from McLean County, and $1,500 Ohio County.

$2,349.77 Triple T Farms

Triple T Farms received $2,349.77 in Pulaski County funds to develop and coordinate markets for fresh culinary herbs and specialty items in the state and beyond. The funds will be used to purchase equipment to expand Triple T's current facilities to meet the demands of production increases and fulfill its new role as the collection point and marketing center for producers. Triple T Farms will contract with growers in the state, supply growers with transplants at a twenty percent discount and provide production education to new growers along with technical support throughout the season.

$501.00 Jackson Purchase Foundation, Inc.

The Jackson Purchase RC&D Foundation, Inc. received $501.00 in Fulton County funds to administer a one-day Women in Agriculture seminar. The seminar will focus on improving the quality of farm life through agricultural diversification.

$39,500 University of Kentucky, Department of Forestry

UK Department of Forestry received $ 39,500 in KCADE funds to support the Natural Resource and Leadership Institute, NRLI. NRLI is a leadership development program for individuals in agriculture and natural resource fields. The program includes training in interpersonal communication, conflict resolution, policy-making, networking, and collaborative problem solving to enable participants to be more successful in their business and community activities.

County model programs are designed to provide farmers with cost-share funding to allow them to improve and diversify their current production practices. The cattle handling and cattle genetics programs allow for assistance to purchase equipment and animals to improve the health and profitability of cattle. The forage program improves pastures to allow for improved grazing by animals, reducing producer costs for feed, and improving feed quality. The goat diversification program works to assist producers to venture into this relatively new area of agriculture in Kentucky. And the diversification program is designed to assist in the transition into ten new areas of agriculture including dairy, aquaculture, and horticulture. The following is a list of County model programs that were approved for funding at this meeting.

County Cattle Genetics Improvement Programs approved by the board totaled $40,000.00 and included:

County Forage Improvement Programs approved by the board totaled $47,192.60 and included:

County Cattle Handling Programs approved by the board totaled $157,000.00 and included:

Goat Diversification Programs approved by the board totaled $40,750.00 and included:

County Diversification Programs approved by the board totaled $91,000.00 and included:

Kentucky has made a historic effort to diversify away from tobacco production while revitalizing the farm economy by investing 50% of Kentucky's Master Settlement Agreement into the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund. Of this 50% allocation, 65% of the Fund is set aside for regional and statewide agricultural projects, while 35% is earmarked for individual counties on the basis of their tobacco dependence. Since the inception of the program in January 2001, the Agricultural Development Board has reviewed over 1450 proposals and approved over 775 proposals committing over $97 million to an array of county, regional, and state projects designed to increase net farm income and create sustainable new farm-based business enterprises.

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