The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board, chaired by Governor Ernie Fletcher, approved $2,263,771 in agricultural diversification projects across the Commonwealth at the monthly Board Meeting on May 21 at the Kentucky History Center in Frankfort

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

$572,676 Boones Abattoir, Inc.
Boones Abattoir, Inc., was approved for a forgivable loan consisting of $15,000 in Nelson County, $5,000 in Woodford County, $5,000 in Shelby County, $1,000 in Henry County and $546,676 in state funds to expand the state of the art USDA inspected livestock slaughter/processing facility in Nelson County. The expansion will include construction of new facilities and the purchase of equipment allowing Boones Abattoir to provide valued added processing services as Kentucky livestock producers increase their efforts to sell direct to wholesalers, retailers and consumers.

$9,725 Henry County Chamber of Commerce
The Henry County Chamber of Commerce was approved for $9,725 to provide additional funding for the Henry County Agricultural Marketing Specialist. The Marketing Specialist will continue efforts in working to assist farmers in Henry County find alternative markets for their non-tobacco products.

$7,020 Jessamine County FFA Alumni Association
The Jessamine County FFA Alumni Association was approved for $7,020 of Jessamine County funds to continue an agriculture project cost-share program for 4H & FFA students in Jessamine County.

$9,000 Maintain Our Rural Environment
Maintain Our Rural Environment was approved for $9,000 in Shelby County funds to conduct a Cost of Community Services (COCS) study in Shelby County, outside of Shelbyville and Simpsonville. The American Farmland Trust will conduct the study in an effort to assist local leaders in determining what the conversion of agricultural lands to residential use can cost Shelby 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 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 $191,490 and included:

$40,000 Bath County
$26,250 Estill County
$50,500 Hardin County
$26,740 McLean County
$20,000 Metcalfe County
$28,000 Rowan County

County Fencing Improvement Programs approved by the Board totaled $249,614 and included:

$48,125 Anderson County
$25,000 Lyon County
$69,264 Magoffin County
$7,225 Meade County
$100,000 Metcalfe County

County Forage Improvement Programs approved by the Board totaled $23,284 and included:

$16,059 McLean County
$7,225 Meade County

County Cattle Genetics Improvement Programs approved by the Board totaled $219,537 and included:

$52,500 Bracken County
$31,200 Cumberland County
$60,000 Fleming County
$50,000 Grayson County
$10,837 Meade County
$15,000 Todd County

County Goat Diversification Programs approved by the Board totaled $65,521 and included:

$20,000 Barren County
$5,909 McLean County
$3,612 Meade County
$20,000 Metcalfe County
$16,000 Rowan County

County Cattle Handling Programs approved by the Board totaled $213,463 and included:

$40,000 Clinton County
$25,000 Grayson County
$30,000 Lyon County
$5,266 McLean County
$7,225 Meade County
$101,972 Monroe County
$4,000 Robertson

County Hay, Straw and Commodity Storage Programs approved by the Board totaled $604,316 and included:

$91,000 Bath County
$125,624 Hardin County
$35,220 Meade County
$101,972 Monroe County
$157,500 Ohio County
$93,000 Rockcastle County

County On-Farm Water Enhancement Programs approved by the Board totaled $98,125 and included:

$23,125 Anderson County
$75,000 Robertson 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 1700 proposals committing over $157 million to an array of county, regional, and state projects designed to increase net farm income and create sustainable new farm-based business enterprises.