Governor's Office of Agricultural Policy
The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board Approved $200,000 for the Kentucky Agricultural Council

Frankfort, Ky.-The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board, Chaired by Governor Steve Beshear, approved $200,000 of state funds distributed over a two year period to assist in the coordination, implementation, and continued development of the Strategic Plan for Agriculture.  This proposal was one of the thirty-one projects approved at the June Kentucky Agricultural Development Board Meeting that took place in Frankfort, Ky.

As a result of the Task Force on the Future of Agriculture's efforts, the Kentucky Agricultural Council has put forth "A Pathway for Kentucky's Agriculture and its Rural Communities: 2007-2012 Strategic Plan".  This was a result of nine months of dedication on the part of 50 agricultural organizations putting their ideas together to achieve a common goal of advancing Kentucky’s agriculture industry.

The Kentucky Agricultural Council, over the next two years, will begin to use these funds to carry out the Strategic Plan’s goals and initiatives. Some of the funds will be used to provide professional services, management to implement the strategic plan, general administrative expenses, printing and report production, feasibility study and business plan development.

“I am committed to creating opportunities that will make Kentucky’s agricultural community stronger,” said Gov. Beshear. “Projects funded by the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board, such as this one, play an integral role in achieving this goal.”

Governor Beshear 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 $264 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 3,272 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 Dr. Tony Brannon at (270) 809-6923.  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.  

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