Kentucky's Long-Term Plan for Agricultural Development

The Commonwealth has been blessed with both the political will and the financial means to redesign its rural economy. The preservation of our rural nature can be a valuable asset in preserving the social fabric on which rural health depends.

This comprehensive plan seeks to adhere to three principles of sustainable development:

• Adding value to local agricultural products, exploiting market niches for pure and wholesome foods and promoting the rural landscape of Kentucky as an asset.

• Retaining the present scale and individual ownership of Kentucky agriculture by preserving working farms on Commonwealth farmland maintains our rural towns and communities.

• Minimizing the burdens on natural resources and rewarding good land stewards with a decent living will enhance the Kentucky environment.

There are three distinct rural ecosystems in Kentucky - Eastern, Central and Western. Although the borders of these districts are not clearly defined, they are recognized by the residents. The Commonwealth's long-term plan for agriculture reflects these regional differences and strives to provide solutions tailored to the local environment.

You may download the Plan in its entirety or download individual sections as separate files. The documents are in Adobe Portable Document Format (.pdf) and require the FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader

Cultivating Rural Prosperity: Kentucky's Long-term Plan for Agricultural Development (1.3 MB)

Letters, Acknowledgements, Foreward (197 KB)

Executive Summary (285 KB)

Commonwealth Agriculture (309 KB)

Priority Areas (369 KB)

Conclusion & Summary (86 KB)

Appendix: Kentucky's Agricultural Assets (165 KB)