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

Lake Cumberland Milling, LLC (LCM) was approved for $20,000 in Wayne County, $20,000 in Pulaski County, $20,000 in Russell County, $10,000 in Cumberland County, $5,000 in Clinton County and $1,100,000 in state funds to renovate Wayne County Feeds & Supply to include a soybean extrusion mill.

McDowell Farms Salsa, LLC was approved for $2,500 each in Mason, Lewis, Bracken and Robertson County funds and $46,000 in state funds as a forgivable loan for expansion of a farm-based salsa production operation to a farm-based commercial kitchen. Agricultural Development Funds would be used to purchase processing equipment and assist with construction costs for the commercial kitchen.

Mason County Agricultural Advancement Council was approved for $50,000 in Mason County funds to administer a Hay Handling Project, as an extension of the Lewis County pilot project. Agricultural Development Funds will be used to cost-share on hay handling equipment to improve labor efficiency and safety as hay is transported to market.

Marion County Fair, Inc. was approved for $30,000 in Marion County funds to make improvements to the Marion County Multi-Purpose Agricultural Center.

Marketing Institute, Inc. was approved for $22,700 in Kentucky Center for Agricultural Development & Entrepreneurship funds to assist in the feasibility study to explore the opportunities, challenges, risks and value associated with the construction and operation of an ethanol facility in the Meade County area.

Cumberland Farm Products Association, Inc. was approved for $15,000 in Wayne County funds as a county contribution to the forgivable loan funded in December 2003. The Agricultural Development Funds will be used toward the purchase of equipment and improvements to the facility for the 2004 season.

Johnson County Ag Advancement Council was approved for $10,500 in Johnson County funds to establish a shared-use program in Johnson County. Agricultural Development Funds will be used to purchase a lime spreader for applying lime on steeper fields to improve the productivity of the farmland.

Bath County Agricultural Extension Foundation, Inc. was approved for $10,000 in Montgomery County funds to be used in the development of the Bath County Agriculture Education & Marketing Center.

Lincoln County Farm Bureau Federation was approved for $10,000 in Lincoln County funds to administer a livestock cost-share program for youth in Lincoln County.

Mountain Cattleman Association was approved for $1,000 in Perry County funds to provide Nx Level Entrepreneurship training classes to potential Perry County producers.

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 On-Farm Water Enhancement program allows producers to adopt a proactive and systematic approach to expanding existing water supplies or to develop alternative water sources. 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 $394,425 and included:

$8,125 Anderson County $60,900 Breathitt County

$19,762 Carroll County $9,502 Daviess County

$5,000 Franklin County $35,000 Garrard County

$136,500 Henry County $24,738 Madison County

$3,000 Magoffin County $9,388 Oldham County

$61,510 Trimble County $21,000 Washington County

County Fencing Improvement Programs approved by the Board totaled $691,977 and

included:

$102,500 Bath County $60,000 Boyle County

$66,000 Carroll County $25,000 Franklin County

$105,000 Garrard County $49,310 Henry County

$150,000 Mason County $8,167 Oldham County

$50,000 Trimble County $76,000 Woodford County

County Forage Improvement Programs approved by the Board totaled $851,602 and

included:

$8,125 Anderson County $361,484 Barren County

$99,105 Carroll County $20,000 Daviess County

$52,500 Franklin County $4,311 Harrison County

$22,059 Henry County $35,000 Lincoln County

$97,650 Madison County $3,200 Mercer County

$43,224 Muhlenberg County $4,084 Oldham County

$67,860 Owen County $33,000 Trimble County

County Cattle Genetics Improvement Programs approved by the Board totaled $268,667 and included:

$31,250 Anderson County $22,951 Carroll County

$15,000 Clinton County $10,000 Franklin County

$47,896 Henry County $24,000 Laurel County

$50,000 Lincoln County $45,570 Madison County

$22,000 Trimble County

County Goat Diversification Programs approved by the Board totaled $91,546 and included:

$25,000 Bullitt County $16,796 Carroll County

$20,000 Lincoln County $15,750 Shelby County

$14,000 Washington County

County Cattle Handling Programs approved by the Board totaled $748,313 and

included:

$49,055 Carroll County $36,040 Daviess County

$12,500 Franklin County $65,000 Garrard County

$48,846 Henry County $60,000 Larue County

$102,000 Laurel County $80,000 Lincoln County

$58,280 Madison County $45,000 Metcalfe County

$8,167 Oldham County $83,425 Owen County

$50,000 Pendleton County $10,000 Rowan County

$40,000 Trimble County

County Hay, Straw and Commodity Storage Programs approved by the Board totaled $976,429 and included:

$15,113 Anderson County $26,250 Breathitt County

$68,147 Carroll County $29,622 Carroll County

$135,000 Clay County $25,000 Franklin County

$95,000 Garrard County $43,426 Henry County

$71,000 Larue County $50,000 Laurel County

$50,000 Lincoln County $93,620 Madison County

$12,251 Oldham County $200,000 Pendleton County

$62,000 Trimble County

County On-Farm Water Enhancement Programs approved by the Board totaled $66,281 and included:

$22,000 Carroll County $33,201 Madison County

$11,080 Trimble County

Kentucky’s Legislature has made an 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 1600 proposals committing over $155 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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