Governor's Office of Agricultural Policy
$102,000 Approved for Kentucky Poultry Federation

Frankfort, KY. (December 18, 2006)-The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board approved the Kentucky Poultry Federation for $102,000 in state funds to help with the establishment of an indemnification program large enough to provide assistance to non-commercial poultry farmers. This proposal was one of the twenty-nine projects, totaling $4,148,273 approved at the December Kentucky Agricultural Development Board Meeting.

The funds will be added to the private funds that already exist to establish an indemnification program large enough to provide assistance to non-commercial poultry farmers in the event of an avian disease outbreak. The key to controlling a disease outbreak is a quick response mechanism and the indemnity fund would provide a vehicle for rapid response. Participants in the indemnity program would be on a voluntary basis and would not be mandatory, or supersede any state or federal agency.

If an avian disease outbreak occurred in a non-commercial poultry operation the loss of birds would be an economic devastation for their operation. Therefore, this indemnity fund allows for compensation for those birds due to depopulation procedures.

Governor Fletcher and the Kentucky Legislature continue to make great strides toward lessening Kentucky’s dependence on tobacco production while revitalizing the farm economy by investing 50 percent of Kentucky's Master Settlement Agreement into the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund.  To date, Kentucky has invested more than $230 million to an array of county, regional and state projects designed to increase net farm income and create sustainable new farm-based business enterprises. The diversification programs represent more than 2,730 projects that have been funded through Agricultural Development Fund, since the inception of the program in January 2001.

For more information on this project contact Melissa Miller, with the Kentucky Poultry Federation, at (859) 373-0761.To learn more about cost-share grant and loan programs available though the Agricultural Development Fund contact the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy at (502) 564-4627.