FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 23, 2003
Contact: Kara Keeton, Communications Director
Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy
(502) 564-4627

$3,576,977.14 Invested in Kentucky Agricultural Diversification

The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board, chaired by Governor Paul Patton, approved $3,576,977.14 in agricultural diversification projects across the Commonwealth at their monthly Board Meeting on February 21st at the Kentucky History Center.

Agricultural Development Fund Projects approved for funding at the February meeting include:

$1,930,000 Kentucky’s Cattlemen’s Association

Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association received $1,930,000 in State Agriculture Development Funds to establish a collaborative marketing effort by the Kentucky Beef Council, Kentucky Pork Producers, Western Kentucky Growers Cooperative and General Electric Appliances. The collaborative effort will promote the achievements of cattle, swine and vegetable producers in Kentucky and producer groups in the Commonwealth who have received funding through the Agricultural Development Board. The goal of the collaboration is to work together to increase marketing efforts for cattle, swine and vegetable producers, in order to make the commodity a consumer demanded and viable end product. In addition this project will create promotion initiatives that focus on buyers of Kentucky cattle, and assist those buyers in distinguishing Kentucky cattle from others in terms of quality and consistency. The Agricultural Development Funds for this initiative will come from the $13,000,000 that was set aside for market initiatives at the January 2002 Board Meeting.
 

$430,844.14 West Kentucky Growers Cooperative, Inc.

West Kentucky Growers Cooperative is received $430,844.14 in Agricultural Development Funds to retire 2002 outstanding operating debt and cover the 2001 operating shortfall. The grant will consist of $286,000 in state funds, $55,023 of Daviess County funds and $29,821.12 of McLean County funds. West Kentucky Growers Cooperative will also be made available up to $60,000 from the Kentucky Center for Agricultural Development & Entrepreneurship to conduct feasibility studies for value-added products.
 

$352,525 Southeast Kentucky Agriculture Cooperative

The Southeast Kentucky Agricultural Cooperative received $352,525 in state and county funds to build and equip a horticulture receiving and shipping facility in Corbin. The grant will consist of $154,525 in state funds, $68,000 in Whitley County funds, $90,000 in Knox County funds, $25,000 in Laurel County funds, and $15,000 in Jackson County funds. The facility will serve as a receiving station for vegetables that will be shipped to and marketed by Cumberland Farm Products in Monticello. Southeast Kentucky Agricultural Cooperative currently consists of 50 area growers with a current production of 226 acres of vegetables with plans to incorporate over 100 producers in the near future. Cumberland Farm Products has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Southeast Kentucky Agricultural Cooperative in which a core group of Southeast Coop producers will market their produce through Cumberland Farms during 2003 through individual grower contracts to establish production levels and address any quality issues that may arise. If the facility is completed for the 2004 growing season, the produce transferred from the Southeast Coop to Cumberland Farms will increase substantially through the involvement of additional growers.
 

$150,000 Central Kentucky Grower’s Association

The Central Kentucky Grower's Association received $150,000 of State funds to update a production line, expand to year-round marketing and to meet the needs of new and existing growers. Currently the Central Kentucky Grower's Association consists of 35 farm families from over nine counties. Recent inquiries have the cooperative estimating the number of growers increasing by as much as 100% for the 2003-growing season. To handle this growth the Central Kentucky Grower’s Association will utilize funds to purchase necessary equipment and modify existing equipment for expansion.
 

$109,200 Kentucky Heritage Meats, LLC

Kentucky Heritage Meats, LLC received a $109,200 forgivable loan in county and state Agricultural Development Funds to establish a custom meat cutting processing business in Louisville. The forgivable loan will consist of $79,200 in state funds, $10,000 in Nelson County funds, $10,000 in Washington County funds and $10,000 in Marion County funds. Kentucky Heritage Meats, LLC will operate from a producer’s base of a tri-county area, including Marion, Nelson and Washington Counties. Kentucky Heritage Meats, LLC will purchase livestock from the producer at established markets prices, and on a quarterly basis the producers will receive a “Bonus” payment at a rate of $.05 cent per pound of carcass weight.
 

$500 Princeton Recreational, Tourist and Convention Center

The Princeton Recreational, Tourist and Convention Center received $500 of Caldwell County funds to assist in establishing and maintaining a website to promote tourism, specifically agri-tourism, in Caldwell County.
 

$2,800 Union County Beef Cattle Association, Inc.

The Union County Beef Cattle Association, Inc. received $2,800 in Union County funds to present a registered bull sale that will give area producers the opportunity to buy and sell quality bulls. Agricultural Development Funds will be used to cover expenses related to marketing and promotion, rental fees on facilities and equipment and mileage to transport rental gates and reimburse the screening committee that will inspect each bull consigned to the sale. The Union County Beef Cattle Association, Inc. will waive consignment fees this year but plan to implement a fee schedule in subsequent years with the goal to be a self-sustaining operation. The Kentucky Beef Network representative, a program initiated with Agricultural Development Funds, has been instrumental in identifying cattle producers that have the ability to provide quality bulls for the sale.
 

$25,000 Marshall County Conservation District

Marshall County Conservation District received $25,000 of Marshall County funds to administer a Lime program for row crop farmers who did not participate in the Marshall County Forage Improvement Program.
 

$57,566 Nicholas County Fiscal Court

Nicholas County Fiscal Court received an additional $57,566 in Nicholas County funds for the successful Nicholas County Fencing Improvement Program.
 

$23,400 Breathitt County Conservation District

Breathitt County Conservation District received $23,400 in Breathitt County funds to implement a shared-use equipment program for a no-till drill, pasture renovator, and a lime spreader. This equipment will be made available to Breathitt County producers on a first-come, first-serve basis.
 

$50,361 Laurel County Cattlemen’s Association

Laurel County Cattlemen's Association received $50,361 in Laurel County funds to establish a cost-share equipment program for a forage wrapper, traveling hard hose irrigation gun system, ground driven lime spreader, a plastic mulch layer and water wheel setter. This equipment will be made available to Laurel County producers on a first-come, first-serve basis.
 

$13,474 Grant County Conservation District

The Grant County Conservation District received $13,474 in Grant County funds to purchase a Stoltzfus 4 ton WLS OM lime spreader to be utilized by Grant County producers.
 

$3,000 Wilderness Trail Area Marketing Alliance

Wilderness Trail Area Marketing Alliance received $3,000 in Jackson County funds for additional construction on the marketing facility. The funds will be used for gutters, downspouts, and gable ends.
 

$5,741 Jessamine County Beef Cattle Association

Jessamine Beef Cattle Association received $5,741 of Jessamine County funds to encourage Jessamine County farm families, particularly tobacco farm families to participate in established record keeping programs offered through the University of Kentucky and Kentucky Beef Network.
 

$2,600 City of Wilmore

City of Wilmore received $2,600 in Jessamine County funds to assist in the expansion of the farmer’s market located in Wilmore. The funds will be utilized for marketing and promotion for the farmer’s market and sunshade umbrellas to be utilized by producers at the market. The applicant projects that these improvements will increase the farmer participation from the current 10-15 producers to 20-25 in 2003.
 

$50,000 Nicholas County Board of Education

Nicholas County Board of Education received $50,000 in Nicholas County funds to construct and equip a greenhouse at the Nicholas County High School. This application is a cooperative effort of the Nicholas County's Vocational Agriculture staff and students, the Community Education Program, and the Nicholas County School District. Classes will be offered by the Nicholas County Vocational Agriculture staff to three primary groups farmers seeking alternative crops, farmers seeking to learn new and innovative farming techniques and Nicholas County High School students.
 

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 $59,298 and included:

County Forage Improvement Programs approved by the board totaled $24,500 and included:

County Cattle Handling Programs approved by the board totaled $74,391 and included:

Goat Diversification Programs approved by the board totaled $38,277 and included:

County Diversification Programs approved by the board totaled $173,500.00 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 1600 proposals and approved over 900 proposals committing over $102 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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