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

$187,315 Cumberland Farm Products, Inc.
Cumberland Farm Products, Inc. was approved for a forgivable loan consisting of $500 in McCreary County, $10,000 in Pulaski County, $15,000 in Russell County and $161,815 in state funds. Agricultural Development Funds will be used to purchase 600 large plastic bins to replace outdated wooden bins, repair one of the coolers at the Monticello facility, and to cover operating expenses.

$125,000 Washington County Cattlemen Association
Washington County Cattlemen Association, Inc. was approved for $125,000 in Washington County funds to continue a three-year program that includes funding for three model programs and record keeping system called Cattle Herd Appraisal Program (CHAPS).

$118,500 Gone Fishin
Gone Fishin was approved for $5,000 in Warren County, $15,000 in Butler County, and $98,500 in state funds to establish a commercial catfish processing facility in Butler County.

$21,000 Morgan County 4-H Council
Morgan County 4-H Council was approved for $21,000 in Morgan County funds to assist in developing an agri-business training program for youth. County funds will be used by the youth for various agricultural projects (both livestock and crops), and youth will be required to complete an agricultural entrepreneurship course based on the Kaufman Foundation Youth Business Development curriculum.

$20,000 Owensboro Community College
Owensboro Community College was approved for $ 20,000 in Daviess County funds to expand the Agriculture Technology Program with a greenhouse facility for students and adult education with emphasis on how to enhance value added agronomic practices.

$7,738 Johnson County Agricultural Advancement Council
Johnson County Agricultural Advancement Council was approved for $7,738 in Johnson County funds to purchase a vegetable transplanter and bed shaper / mulch layer for rental to local county produce growers.

$3,000 Licking River Valley RC&D Council
Licking River Valley RC&D Council, Inc. was approved for $3,000 in Harrison County funds to purchase a Sheeps-foot roller to establish a shared-use program for local producers.

$1,000 Mountain Cattlemen’s Association
Mountain Cattlemen’s Association was approved for $1,000 in Floyd County funds to allow additional Floyd County beef producers to participate in the Heifer Development Project in Perry County .

County model programs are designed to provide farmers with cost-share funding to allow them to improve and diversify their current production practices. The Agricultural Diversification program is designed to assist in the transition into ten new areas of agriculture including dairy, aquaculture, and horticulture. The Fencing Improvement program improves net farm income through improved pasture quantity, quality and efficient use of fencing for livestock producers.

The Forage Improvement program improves pastures to allow for improved grazing by animals, reducing producer costs for feed, and improving feed quality. The Cattle Handling and Cattle Genetics programs allow for assistance to purchase equipment and animals to improve the health and profitability of cattle. The Goat Diversification program works to assist producers to venture into this relatively new area of agriculture in Kentucky. The Hay, Straw, & Commodity Storage program allows producers to increase the quality and marketability of products to improve the overall farm income. The following is a list of county model programs that were approved for funding at this meeting.

County Agricultural Diversification Programs approved by the Board totaled $136,900 and included:

County Fencing Improvement Programs approved by the Board totaled $228,000 and included:

County Forage Improvement Programs approved by the Board totaled $120,675 and included:

County Cattle Genetics Improvement Programs approved by the Board totaled $75,000 and included:

County Goat Diversification Programs approved by the Board totaled $56,500 and included:

County Cattle Handling Programs approved by the Board totaled $75,000 and included:

County Hay, Straw and Commodity Storage Programs approved by the Board totaled $120,300 and included:

Kentucky’s Legislature 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 approved over 1400 proposals committing over $156 million to an array of county, regional, and state projects designed to increase net farm income and create sustainable new farm-based business enterprises.