Governor's Office of Agricultural Policy
Agricultural Development Funds Awarded

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Feb. 17, 2012) - The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board (KADB), chaired by Governor Steve Beshear, today approved $662,757 for nine agricultural diversification projects across the Commonwealth during its February board meeting held during the National Farm Machinery Show at the Kentucky Exposition Center.

State and regional investments included:

$24,000 Blueberry Marketing Facility
The Edmonton-Metcalfe County Industrial Authority was approved for $12,000 in state and $12,000 in multi-county funds to construct a regional marketing facility for blueberries to assist the efforts of the Kentucky Blueberry Growers Association. 

County investments approved included:

$3,000  Processing Facility Expansion
Corey L. Collins, owner/operator of Garrison Meat Processing, was approved for $3,000 in Lewis County funds for the expansion of his meat processing facility in Lewis County. 

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.  Two CAIPs were approved by the board totaling $438,060 for Green and Wolfe counties.

In addition to these new approvals, an additional $168,076 was approved to supplement existing CAIPs in Mercer, Taylor and Washington counties.

The Shared-use Equipment Program is designed to benefit a high number of producers who cannot justify ownership expenses associated with certain equipment by helping them access technology necessary to improve their operations in an economical manner.  In June 2011, the KADB approved a special initiative to provide 16 counties that receive $15,000 or less in county funds access to state funds to implement a shared-use equipment program.  Two Shared-use Equipment Programs were approved by the board through the Shared-Use Equipment Initiative totaling $29,621 for Perry and McCreary counties.

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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 $368 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 3,926 projects approved, since the inception of the program in January 2001.