Governor's Office of Agricultural Policy
More than $1.1 Million in Agricultural Development Funds Awarded

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 16, 2011) - The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board (KADB), chaired by Governor Steve Beshear, today approved $1,199,676 in 10 agricultural diversification projects across the Commonwealth during its December board meeting held at the Salato Wildlife Education Center.

State and regional investments included:

$55,782 Feral Hog Control
Nonprofit Dynamics Inc. was approved for $24,641 in county and up to $31,141 in state funds to establish a three-tiered pilot program to control the feral hog population in Obion Creek watershed.  Counties contributing to the project are as follows:  Carlisle - $5,000; Graves - $10,000; and Hickman - $9,641.  The three tiers will be used to stop expansion and provide a substantial reduction in feral hog populations in the area.

For more information about this project, contact Robert Johnson at 270-519-0857 or robert.johnson@npdi.us.

$35,000   Livestock Sale Facility
Bluegrass Stockyards of Albany LLC was approved for $30,000 in Clinton and $5,000 in Wayne County funds for the construction of a 50,000-square-foot stockyard facility in Albany.  The facility will provide a competitive, modern livestock auction market for farmers in south central Kentucky.

For more information about this project, contact Jim Akers at 859-255-7701, 859-361-4221 or akersjim@bellsouth.net. 

County investments approved included:

$30,000   Forage Management Education
The Garrard County Board of Education was approved for $30,000 in Garrard County funds to implement a forage management program on the Garrard County FFA farm for youth and adult education. The project will include renovating land on the farm to make it suitable for pasture and forage crops, which will be used as livestock feed and other educational purposes.

For more information about this project, contact Aaron McDonald at 859-792-2146, 859-582-0310 or aaron.mcdonald@garrard.kyschools.us.

The County Agricultural Investment Program (CAIP) is designed to provide farmers with incentives to allow them to improve and diversify their current production practices.  CAIP covers a wide variety of agricultural enterprises in its 11 investment areas.  Three CAIPs were approved by the board totaling $758,784 for Barren, Fleming and Washington counties.

In addition to these new approvals, an additional $320,110 was approved to supplement existing CAIPs in the following counties:  Daviess, Fayette, Garrard and Grayson.

Also during this meeting, the board approved additional policies and program changes that will take effect Jan. 1, 2012.  See the attached summary or visit agpolicy.ky.gov for a complete listing of policy and program changes made for 2012.

Additionally, the KADB approved $2 million in state funds to implement an on-farm energy incentive program.  Details and availability will be announced in early 2012.

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Gov. Steve Beshear and the Kentucky General Assembly 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 nearly $366 million to an array of county, regional and state projects designed to increase net farm income and create sustainable new farm-based business enterprises. These funding approvals, made possible by the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund, represent just a few of the 3,912 projects approved, since the inception of the program in January 2001.