Kentucky Sag 2013

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Best in Show

LEAvEs Of ChAnGEKentucky's tobacco producers adapt to industry changes

KENTUCKYPROUD

KentucKy State Fair celebrateS the State'S tradition oF agriculture

• The business of agriculTure in KenTucKy •

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

7 a look inside

8 Kentucky Proud overview

10 the business of agricultureState-funded initiatives partner with the Department of Agriculture to help farmers

Kentucky State Fair 12 all’s Fair

The state fair celebrates the tradition of agriculture in Kentucky

15 highlights in historyTimeline chronicles more than a century of the Kentucky State Fair

Top Crops 16 row after row of Success

Corn and soybeans are Kentucky’s top crops

19 caudill’s Seeds of PrideAfter 65 years, Caudill Seed Company still values hometown roots

20 leaves of changeKentucky tobacco producers adapt to keep up with changes in the industry

23 documenting tobacco’s historyNew film recognizes state’s dark-fired tobacco legacy

24 it grows on treesExports to China help the state’s lumber industry

Local Food & Beverages28 Making Kentucky Proud

Marketing program connects farmers and consumers to promote state-made products

30 raising local SupportState businesses bank on the future of agriculture

31 restaurant rewardsProgram encourages Kentucky restaurants to buy local produce

32 grape expectationsBurgeoning wine industry grows as commercial vineyards open

KENTUCKYPROUD


2013

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

KENTUCKY ProUd 2013

62

35 Say cheese, PleaseLocal artisan cheese makers are Kentucky Proud

36 native SpiritBourbon is rooted in agriculture and state identity

Animals & Livestock40 Straight from the horse’s Mouth

Kentucky’s horse industry is more than just Thoroughbreds

44 Poultry PowerIndustry ranks high among state’s commodities, exports

48 bettering bovinesProgram helps protect calves for backgrounding and feedlots

Environment & Conservation52 good growth

Program provides conservation easements to preserve farmland

Consumer Protection54 Safeguarding the Public

Department of Agriculture services protect consumers

Agriculture Education58 cultivating their Future

Hands-on high school teaches students about agriculture

62 extending a handUniversity ag extension programs educate Kentuckians

On the Cover A young contestant with his cattle. PHOTO BY JEFFREY S. OTTO

Managing Editor BLAIR THOMASContent Director JeSSy yAnceyProofreading Manager RAven PeTTyContent Coordinator RAcHeL BeRTOneContributing Writers BeveRLey KReuL, KevIn LITwIn, cATHy LOcKMAn, cHRIS POOReSenior Graphic Designers STAcey ALLIS, LAuRA GALLAGHeR, JAKe SHOReS, KRIS SexTOn, vIKKI wILLIAMSGraphic Designers eRIcA LAMPLey, KARA LeIBy, KAcey PASSMOReSenior Photographers Jeff AdKInS, BRIAn MccORdStaff Photographers TOdd BenneTT, MIcHAeL cOnTIColor Imaging Technician ALISOn HunTeRAd Production Manager KATIe MIddendORfAd Traffic Assistants KRySTIn LeMMOn, PATRIcIA MOISAn

Chairman GReG THuRMAnPresident/Publisher BOB ScHwARTzMAnExecutive Vice President RAy LAnGenSenior V.P./Operations cASey HeSTeRSenior V.P./Agribusiness Publishing KIM newSOM HOLMBeRGV.P./External Communications TeRee cARuTHeRSV.P./Agribusiness Sales RHOndA GRAHAMV.P./Sales HeRB HARPeRController cHRIS dudLeySenior Accountant LISA OwenSAccounts Payable Coordinator MARIA McfARLAndAccounts Receivable Coordinator dIAnA GuzMAnSales Support Project Manager SARA QuInTSystem Administrator dAnIeL cAnTReLLWeb Creative Director ALLISOn dAvISWeb Content Manager JOHn HOOdWeb Designer II RIcHARd STevenSWeb Development Lead yAMeL HALLWeb Developer I neLS nOSewORTHyPhotography Director JeffRey S. OTTOCreative Services Director cHRISTInA cARdenCreative Technology Analyst BeccA ARyAudience Development Director deAnnA neLSOnDistribution Director GARy SMITHExecutive Secretary KRISTy duncAnHuman Resources Manager PeGGy BLAKe Receptionist LIndA BISHOP

Kentucky Proud is published annually by Journal Communications Inc. and is distributed by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. For advertising information or to direct questions or comments about the magazine, contact Journal Communications Inc. at (615) 771-0080 or by email at [email protected].

For more information about the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, contact:

The office of the Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture

111 Corporate Drive, Frankfort, KY 40601

(502) 564-4696 • or by email at [email protected]

No public funds were used in the publishing of this magazine.

© Copyright 2012 Journal Communications Inc., 725 Cool Springs Blvd., Suite 400, Franklin, TN 37067, (615) 771-0080. All rights reserved. No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent.

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2013 Edition, VolumE 1

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A LOOK INSIDE

Greetings from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture!

I have not yet finished my first year as your Commissioner of Agriculture, but with hard work and your support, we have accomplished so much. From our new “100% Kentucky Proud” marketing initiative to our completely overhaule d organics program, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture is making great strides.

In order to better communicate our activities with you, the KDA has partnered with award-winning agribusiness publisher Journal Communications to launch this new custom magazine. The purpose of this venture is to promote all Kentucky agriculture. The magazine is available in print and digital form for maximum accessibility.

Through this vehicle, we will be able to tell you the story of agriculture and what it means to Kentucky. We will educate consumers, state opinion on matters of importance to our farming community and tell you about issues impacting Kentucky’s economy.

Agriculture is our state’s most important industry. This magazine will celebrate our accomplishments and offer opportunities and suggestions for improvements.

Most importantly, no public funds are being used for this publication. I look forward to speaking with you from these pages, and

remember … Kentucky Proud keeps Kentucky growing.

Sincerely,James R. ComerCommissioner of Agriculture

Welcome to

Digital Edition

LOCAL FOOD & BEvERAGES

36 // KENTUCKY PROUD

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one oF the most popular giFts sold at Kentucky’s bourbon distilleries is a bottle filled with grains – corn, wheat, rye and barley.

It’s a fitting symbol of one of Kentucky’s signature products. But it’s also a message in a bottle; a tribute to the centuries-old agricultural history and tradition that make Kentucky bourbon.

Over the past decade, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail™ experience and tours at Kentucky’s bourbon distilleries have not only contributed to an explosion in bourbon sales and exports, they’ve connected hundreds of thousands to the sights and smells of Kentucky agriculture.

“We say The Kentucky Bourbon Trail™ is where the spirit leads you,” says Kentucky Distillers’ Association President Eric Gregory, “and it has led more than two million people to the Bluegrass in the last five years. We are the one, true, authentic home for bourbon, and its history and heritage can’t be duplicated anywhere else.”

Chris Morris, master distiller at Woodford Reserve, points out that his distillery has its roots as a 500-acre

Bourbon is rooted in ag and tradition

master distiller Chris morris at Woodford Reserve in Versailles. Bourbon must be at least 51 percent corn, with other grains like malted barley, rye and wheat.

Spiritnative

oPtiMized For onlineeach article can be read online, as a web article or in our digital magazine.

Share the contenteasily share an interesting article, stunning photo or useful advertisement via Facebook, twitter or e-mail.

haVe a blog or WebSite?embed our digital magazine in your website to offer compelling information about Kentucky agriculture to your site visitors.

no public funds were used in the publishing of this magazine.

In Par tnership with the Kentucky Department of Agr icu l ture // KY-AGRICULTURE.COM // 2013

Best in Show

LEAvEs Of ChAnGEKentucky's tobacco producers adapt to

industry changes

KENTUCKYPROUD

KentucKy State Fair celebrateS

the State'S tradition oF agriculture


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Visit us online atKY-AGRICULTURE.COM

Tablet Edition

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From nationally ranked exports to a major impact on tourism, Kentucky’s varied agriculture industry is a big player in the state’s economy.

Among the rolling hills and flat plains of the Bluegrass State, you will find 85,700 farms, which puts Kentucky fourth in the country in number of farms, trailing slightly behind Texas, Missouri and Iowa. These farms, which span more than 54 percent of total state acreage, produce its top agricultural commodities including broilers (chickens raised for meat), horses and mules, cattle and calves, corn and soybeans, along with other valued crops like tobacco, hay and ginseng. Animal agriculture alone represented $5.2 billion in state revenues.

But crop and livestock farms are just the tip of Kentucky’s agricultural impact. The state boasts more than 150 farmers markets featuring some 2,000 vendors, statewide education programs, extension services, forestry and timber exports, multiple agritourism locations, and the local spotlight marketing program, Kentucky Proud.

Drive through western Kentucky, and you’ll notice dark tobacco farms, while a trip through the central part of the Commonwealth gives you

a glimpse of burley tobacco. Despite the fact that the crop is not a top commodity, the state was ranked first nationally in 2009 in burley tobacco production, and the crop still significantly contributes to the economy.

Kentucky’s top exports include bourbon whiskey and other beverages, live animals and animal products, prepared animal feed, lumber and logs and meat. Lesser-known exports, like ginseng, also play a role in state economy. Kentucky is one of only 19 states in the country with a wild ginseng export program.

The state’s top product, broilers, brings $108.5 million each year from international trade. Broiler chickens account for just over 18 percent of the state’s total farm receipts, and Kentucky broiler production is ranked seventh in the nation. Kentucky’s poultry industry totaled $1.1 billion in 2010. Corn, another top crop, also plays a role in poultry production. Poultry consumes 29 percent of Kentucky’s corn as feed each year.

The equine industry creates nearly 100,000 direct and indirect jobs and plays an important role in state tourism, valued at $8.8 billion. Animal agriculture, including poultry and cattle, represents 32,700 jobs.

A look at the state’s industry

Kentucky Agriculture

In 2011, Kentucky had its largest wheat crop on record with

30.8 million bushels of winter wheat,

valued at $203 million.

In 2010, Kentucky wheat crops brought

$83.6 million in cash receipts.

78% of tobacco grown in Kentucky

is burley tobacco.

ThE AvERAGE fARM Is

164 acres


KEnTUCKY Is hOME TO

1.1 Million

bEEf CATTLE AnD RAnKs 5Th In ThE nATIOn In nUMbER Of CATTLE fARMs. IT Is ThE LARGEsT

CATTLE-PRODUCInG sTATE EAsT Of ThE MIssIssIPPI RIvER AnD RAnKs 8Th In ThE

nATIOn In bEEf COw PRODUCTIOn.

KEnTUCKY Is ThE OnLY sTATE whERE hORsEs PLAY A sIGnIfICAnT

ROLE In TOURIsM.

Boiler production has grown from 1.87 million to

757.61 million in 10 years (1990-2009).

90%Of KEnTUCKY fARMs ARE fAMILY-OwnED.

50%Of ThE sTATE’s CORn CROP Is UsED TO fEED LIvEsTOCK, wITh POULTRY COnsUMInG

25 PERCEnT.

The Kentucky Proud program currently has

3,000 members.

all 17 state parks seek

LOCAL fARMERs for fresh produce and meat to serve.

the appalachian mountains. the kentucky derby. the coal mines, cornfields and cattle farms. Kentucky is home to one of the richest and most diverse environments in the nation.

The characters, settings and events of Kentucky agriculture combine to form the cornerstone of the Commonwealth. Some traditions are part of the sustaining cultural history; others carry on time-honored traditions; even more help shape the future of the Bluegrass State. Agriculture touches each of the more than 4 million Kentuckians, so it only makes sense there is an office and resource that influences nearly every aspect of the agricultural community.

The Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy (GOAP) and the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund (KADF) are key players in shaping the agricultural economy in the state. The GOAP, founded in 1998, provides administrative support to the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board, chaired by the

State-funded initiatives partner with the Department of Agriculture to help farmers

AgricultureThe Business of


governor, and the Kentucky Agricultural Finance Corporation Board, chaired by the commissioner of agriculture. The GOAP also plays a key role in policy issues, and serves as an advisory outlet on agricultural and rural issues.

Roger Thomas, GOAP executive director, says the office reinforces the message of Gov. Steve Beshear to keep agriculture alive and profitable throughout the Commonwealth.

“Agriculture is the foundation of our economy here in Kentucky,” Thomas says. “The GOAP is a direct link between the governor and the agricultural community on all levels.”

ahead oF the curVeThe Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund

programs are very unique, and other states have used Kentucky as an example to begin programs. Each county has an agricultural development council where local leaders volunteer their time to serve as part of this historic initiative. This ensures that the needs and desires of their communities are addressed by the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board. Kentucky continues to be in the forefront of agricultural diversification nationwide because of this innovative approach.

“Kentucky is a model for the advancement of agriculture in the country,” says Charles Miller, a livestock farmer from Jessamine County. “That’s not something I say idly. That is something I say because people everywhere go out and talk about it and ask you about it.”

The GOAP develops agricultural and rural development programs throughout the state. This includes assisting producers in diversifying their operations, funding youth leadership programs, such as 4-H and FFA, working through the Kentucky Agricultural Finance Corporation to offer low interest loans to beginning farmers and helping farmers with energy efficiency investments and much more.

a beneFicial PartnerShiPGOAP and the Kentucky Department of

Agriculture partner on many initiatives, but one of the most significant partnerships is through the Kentucky Proud program. This program, funded through the KADF and administered by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, is one of the nation’s premier state branding programs.

“One of the best things about KADF programs is they have been responsive to the changing needs of Kentucky agriculture and the challenging economic environment in which we live,” Thomas says. “From time to time, we have developed new programs that are timely and necessary, while still maintaining the proven programs that have been the mainstay for many years.”

Programs funded by KADF have had a major impact on the landscape and success of Kentucky agriculture. Diversification and reduced dependency on tobacco production has been the most noticeable change as the result of KADF investments. The KADF has invested more than $375 million toward helping tobacco producers diversify.

A decade ago, 60,000 to 70,000 Kentucky farms grew tobacco as a cash crop, making agriculture in the Commonwealth dependent on the success of the industry. Today, fewer than 5,000 farmers are growing tobacco. KADF investments have enabled farmers who were once growing tobacco to diversify their operations and remain on their farms.

“Because of matching investments made through KADF programs, there have been three-quarters of a billion dollars invested into agriculture and the rural economy in Kentucky,” Thomas says.

In the face of a volatile and shifting economy, investments made on the state level are extremely important to Kentucky’s success both now and in the future.

– Beverley Kreul


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bruce harper was a teenager when he attended his first Kentucky State Fair in 1958. Since then, he has missed only one fair in 1975, when he was out of the country.

“Growing up on a rural farm and showing cattle for a living for many years, the fair was something that I looked forward to every summer,” Harper says. “There has always been a strong agriculture focus and tradition to the fair, and it’s a big social event as well. It gives you a chance to catch up with people who share the same enjoyment of the fair and who you might not see any other time of the year.”

Since 1990, Harper’s interest in the annual August event has been more than that of a typical fairgoer. He currently serves as Deputy Commissioner under Kentucky

The state fair celebrates the tradition of agriculture in Kentucky

All’s FairCATEGORYKENTUCKY STATE FAIR

the Kentucky State Fair livestock competitions are held in the Exposition Center, which opened in 1956.

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Department of Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, and for 13 years, he served on the Kentucky State Fair Board, which operates both the Kentucky International Convention Center and the Kentucky Exposition Center. The Exposition Center in Louisville is the permanent home of the state fair, as well as two other signature events in agriculture, the National Farm Machinery Show and the North American International Livestock Exposition.

The Exposition Center opened in 1956 and, at the time, was considered the most modern multipurpose facility in the world. There was so much buzz about the facility that NBC’s Today show broadcast live from the fair that year. Since then, expansions and improvements to the center continue to earn it praise as a premier venue for the state fair.

old traditionS, neW FriendS From 1908 to 1955, the fair was held at the

Kentucky State Fairgrounds in Louisville, after

rotating among cities for its first six years. And although the first fair was held in 1902, the 100th fair wasn’t marked until 2004. In 1942 and 1943, the fairgrounds was used for wartime efforts and the annual fair was canceled.

During those early years, roving acts, including Madame Spellman’s troupe of trick bears, bulls and horses, entertained crowds. However, the main attractions at those fairs were horses and livestock shows, including the Parade of Champions, a focus that Harper says remains more than a century later.

He calls the fair’s seven-day world championship horse show, which can feature more than 2,000 horses, “a true sight to see and a real crowd pleaser every year.” The 4-H and FFA Sale of Champions is also a very popular fair event.

“The auction ring will be packed,” Harper says. “We don’t miss a chance to spotlight our young people and their work.” He explains that it’s not only great exposure for the young people, it can

clockwise from top left: A lamb is groomed at the 2012 Kentucky State Fair in louisville; Winning soybeans on display at the state fair; Hogs relax in their pen before fair livestock competitions.


also be a lucrative reward for their hard work. The 2012 champion steer brought in $25,000 and the champion lamb sold for $16,000. For Harper, it’s one of the highlights.

But old traditions mix with new, so there is something for everyone. The Great Pumpkin Contest has quickly become a favorite, and an extensive lineup of concerts attracts newcomers. Longtime fairgoers and first-timers alike enjoy seeing Freddy Farm Bureau sitting tall on the front porch of Freedom Hall.

For Harper, like so many who visit the Exposition Center during those 11 days in August, the fair represents an opportunity to enjoy some good, old-fashioned fun, a chance to support and appreciate the efforts of the agriculture community and a time to renew old acquaintances and meet new friends.

“I’ve enjoyed every fair and always find something new to appreciate each year,” says Harper. “We all can take a lot of pride in the event, the facility and our Kentucky hospitality.”

– Cathy Lockmanthe Exposition Center in louisville has been home to the Kentucky State Fair since it opened in 1956.


Highlights in History:A Timeline of the Kentucky State Fair

1902the first fair was held at Churchill downs.

1962the big Country music Show featuring Johnny Cash, June Carter and George Jones made a stop at the fair.

1908the fair found a permanent home at the Kentucky State Fairgrounds in louisville.

1966the fair was moved from September

to August and air conditioning was added to Freedom Hall.

1914the winnings for the annual Saddle Horse

Stake at the fair were raised to $3,000, the highest purse in the nation.

1971For the first time, more than 1,000 horses were entered in the Kentucky State Fair Horse Show.

1928An attendance record of 255,608 was set.

1980the first Governor’s Sale of Champions was held.

1935the FFA division was added to the fair.

1984the fair adopted a permanent schedule of opening on the third thursday every August.

1942 & 1943the Kentucky State Fair was cancelled during World War ii, due to use of the buildings at the fairgrounds for wartime efforts.

1989the Kentucky State Fair officially became

an 11-day event and remains so today.

1956the Kentucky Fair and Exposition

Center opened and became the new home of the state fair.

1994An all-time attendance record for the Kentucky State Fair was set with 684,356 visitors.

1958Freddy Farm Bureau made his first appearance at the fair.

2004the 100th Kentucky State Fair was

commemorated August 19-29.

1959Kentucky native Rosemary Clooney

performed, and the Kentucky State Fair Quarter Horse Show was born.

2009the Kentucky Country Ham Breakfast and Auction raised $1.3 million for local charities.

TOP CROPS

“ Our main goal is to increase the economic return for farmers. ”

– rYaN BivENs



“young, ambitious Farmer looking For land to lease.”

That’s how Ryan Bivens described himself in ads when he moved to Hodgenville 11 years ago hoping to establish a farming career. It might be an unorthodox way to build a farm operation, since most farmers inherit a family business, but it didn’t take long for people to see how serious Bivens was, or how successful he could be.

Today, Bivens and his wife, Misty, an agriculture teacher at LaRue County High School, run Fresh Start Farms, working 5,400 acres of corn, soybeans and wheat for 68 different landlords. This year, the Bivens family was named one of the 2012 Best Young Farmers in the United States by Progressive Farmer magazine.

Fresh Start aptly describes the genesis of the Bivens’ business. Misty Bivens grew up on a tobacco and beef farm and moved to LaRue County to teach. Ryan worked for neighboring tobacco farmers in high school and college and followed Misty to Hodgenville. Growing corn and soybeans instead of tobacco was a kind of fresh start, too – one that has allowed them to do the work they love, raise their sons, Cyrus and Avery, on the farm and build a strong, community-minded business.

toP croPSLike the Bivens family, many Kentucky farmers have

had great success growing and harvesting corn and soybeans. The state’s two top crops have played a large part in the recent boom in Kentucky’s agriculture economy. Overall farm cash receipts in the Commonwealth topped $5 billion in 2011 for the first time ever.

Corn was responsible for about $980 million of that total, a close second to the poultry industry, which came in at about $1 billion. Kentucky farmers planted 1.6 million acres of corn, the largest corn acreage in more than a quarter century. Soybean production accounted for 12 percent of Kentucky’s farm cash receipts, at

Corn and soybeans are Kentucky’s top crops

ROW After ROW of Success

opposite page: Ryan Bivens and his sons Cyrus and Avery on his family’s Fresh Start Farms in Hodgenville. above: Bivens drives a combine at the farm.

photography By Brian mccord

http://www.wku.edu/agriculture



caudill’s Seeds of PrideKentucky company celebrates 65 years

Celebrating 65 years in business, louisville-based Caudill Seed Company understands what it means to feel truly Kentucky Proud.

Founded in 1947 by Forrest Caudill, the region-wide seed and supply distributor focuses primarily on agriculture, contractor supply and reclamation industries. Caudill produces a variety of seed types, including turf seed, like bluegrass, for golf courses, and forage seed, such as alfalfa and clover, for farm fields. the company’s Floyd County location – one of four in the state – helps with mine reclamation, where they reseed abandoned mines to restore them and make them useable for commercial locations, such as sports fields and neighborhoods, as well as return of wildlife.

While seed is the heart of the company, Caudill is equally proud of its Kentucky roots. Founded in Shelby County, the company moved to louisville in 1959 and began to diversify. it is run by second-generation brothers, Pat and dan Caudill, with 180 total employees across the state. Along with seed, the company also has a food division, Whole Alternatives llC, which was started in 1983. the division packages organic and natural food items for retailers throughout the united States and is the largest producer of organic microwave popcorn.

“it’s been a great accomplishment that we’ve made the successful jump into the

food industry,” says dan Caudill, Coo of Caudill Seed. He adds that they are proud to have the Kentucky Proud logo on their nationally sold products.

the company recently received the Kentucky Proud Partner in Excellence Award, which recognizes growth and sustainability of agriculture within the Commonwealth. dan Caudill, with his brother and president of the company, Pat Caudill, said that they are born and bred Kentuckians with ancestors dating back to before the state joined the union. they take their heritage very seriously, and are proud to represent Kentucky.

“We’re pretty loyal to Kentucky,” dan Caudill says. “if i saw two products side-by-side in a store, and one had a Kentucky Proud logo and the other didn’t, i would buy the Kentucky Proud product to support other businesses in the state.”

Agriculture Commissioner James Comer recently toured the facilities at Caudill Seed to show the agribusiness appreciation for what they bring to the state and the Kentucky Proud program. that feeling was reciprocated from the Caudill brothers.

“Kentucky has a lot to be proud of,” dan Caudill says. “We’re hopeful that the next generation will take the reins and continue the business.”

—Rachel Bertone

approximately $650 million, with nearly 1.4 million acres planted. Soybeans in Kentucky are planted both as full-season beans and double-crop beans following the winter wheat harvest.

“We’re seeing more ground that was hay pasture being brought into corn and soybean production,” says Bivens, whose operation is 50 percent corn, 50 percent beans, with half of those acres also double-crop. “Landowners see row crop production as a way to make a good return on their investment.” And, he says, Kentucky is a great place to grow those crops for several reasons.

“Our climate is a benefit because we have a longer growing window,” Bivens says. “Plus, our location creates a healthy market. We’re sitting on the Ohio River, which gives us easy access to the Gulf of Mexico and the export markets. There is also a strong market for our grain right here in Kentucky for chicken and livestock feed, distilleries and biodiesel.”

As vice president of the Kentucky Soybean Association, Bivens knows a thing or two about these markets. “Our main goal is to increase the economic return for farmers,” he says. That means maintaining and expanding existing markets and developing new ones.

all earSWhat are the challenges for

Kentucky corn and bean farmers? Talk to Kentucky row crop farmers and here’s what you’ll hear: Weather, of course, is always an issue, but one that producers can do little about. Prices are another.

“Farming is not a business that guarantees a profit,” Bivens says. “We take what the market gives us.”

All the more reason to control the aspects of the business that you can, Bivens says. For him, that means a commitment to sustainable practices. “Everything we do, we look first at making decisions that are environmentally friendly. That pays the biggest dividends for everyone in the long run.”

– Cathy Lockman

TOP CROPS


making jet Fuel From tobacco is a technology under study at the Kentucky Tobacco Research & Development Center in Lexington, in partnership with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley.

“It involves the engineering of tobacco to produce hydrocarbons for a variety of potential biofuels applications, including jet fuel,” says Orlando Chambers, Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center managing director. “Other efforts being studied within the industry these days include using tobacco in the production of flu vaccines, and a rabies vaccine from tobacco is being researched for a medical group in South Africa.”

Chambers says several other technologies are currently being developed.

“New uses for tobacco are being found in the areas of pharmaceuticals, as well as in the production of industrial chemicals and materials,” he says. “From a biotech standpoint, tobacco is very easy to engineer, produces a large amount of biomass and because it is not a food or feed crop, so many research angles can be taken to manufacture new materials.”

The research center is also looking into ways to better help Kentucky farmers who still grow the crop for their livelihood, and will face even more federal regulations in the near future.

Specifically, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has developed a list of 93 substances found in tobacco leaves and may soon set levels for the amount of each substance that can be present in future tobacco products.

Kentucky tobacco producers adapt to keep up with evolving industry

Leaves of Change

TOP CROPS

unlike other crops, tobacco producers have found it difficult to adopt profitable forms of mechanization, and tobacco farming remains very labor-intensive.

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“We will try to develop new types of tobacco to be grown in the future, based on the FDA’s regulation of the crop,” Chambers says. “We already have an analytical laboratory facility set up to help address that issue.”

conSolidation oF FarMS For decades, tobacco was king of all crops in Kentucky.

But in 2004, when the Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act – commonly known as the Tobacco Buyout – was instituted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, many tobacco farmers turned to other crops. Several tobacco operations in the state accepted monetary buyouts as a result of the act, which did not prevent anyone from producing tobacco in the future. And while a lot of tobacco farms now support different agriculture, Kentucky remains a formidable tobacco-producing state.

“The consolidation of small farms into fewer, larger farms is what makes up much of the industry’s economics today in our state,” says Will Snell, agricultural economist at the University of Kentucky. “Twenty years ago, there were 60,000 farms in Kentucky raising tobacco, and today there are 5,000-6,000, with the average tobacco farm in Kentucky now being close to 20 acres.”

More exPort SaleS than doMeStic Snell says tobacco has historically accounted for about

25 percent of Kentucky’s total agricultural sales, but today the industry comprises less than 10 percent of such sales.

“The state’s most profitable year for tobacco was 1998, when $924 million of the crop was sold, compared to around $300 million to $350 million in sales in recent

A university of Kentucky researcher sprays a tobacco crop with chemicals. uK research programs are looking for alternate uses for tobacco.

tobacco is tagged at a university of Kentucky research farm in lexington.


years,” he says. “A big chunk of that $300 million nowadays comes from export sales. Past years saw tobacco sales at 75 percent domestic and 25 percent from exports, but now it’s the opposite with two-thirds to three-fourths of our leaf being exported. Japan and Western Europe are currently the biggest buyers of Kentucky tobacco.”

Two kinds of tobacco still grow well in Kentucky: Dark tobacco produced in the western third of the state, and burley tobacco grown primarily in the central and Bluegrass regions of Kentucky.

“Historically, burley represented more than 90 percent of our grown tobacco when cigarettes were at their peak, but today burley accounts for only 70 percent of the overall market value, compared to 30 percent dark tobacco,” Snell says. “Smokeless products are made from dark tobacco, and that sector has been increasing in popularity over the last couple of decades, while cigarette production has seen a decline.”

uPcoMing challengeS Key challenges for the tobacco industry in future years

include finding an adequate and affordable labor supply, and future regulations that will impact growers, Snell says. Unlike other crops, tobacco producers have found it difficult to adopt profitable forms of mechanization.

“It is still a labor-dependent industry that relies on a migrant workforce that has become increasingly difficult to hire in these days of growing labor regulations and the debate over immigration reform,” he says. “Bottom line is

Up to 75% of Kentucky tobacco is exported.

Top markets include Japan and Western Europe.

KEnTUCKY RAnKs

#1In bURLEY TObACCO PRODUCTIOn.

After harvest, burley tobacco hangs to dry in barns on the university of Kentucky’s Spindletop Agriculture Research Farm in lexington.


• Pricesforallclassesofsheep andgoatshavebeenatrecord levelsinrecentyears.

• Withinsufficientsuppliesinthe U.S.tomeetthedemand,prices areexpectedtoremainstrong.

• Sheepandgoatsarean outstandingchoiceforKentucky producersastheycomplement cattleoperationswell,provide goodweedcontrolandrequire littleintermsoffacilities.

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KentUCKY SheeP anD GOat DevelOPMent OffiCe

A Kentucky Proud Organization

P.O.Box4709frankfort,KY40604

(502)[email protected]

No Kiddin’ Around ...

www.kysheepandgoat.org

DARK TOBACCO DOCUMENTARY

documenting tobacco’s history

dark tobacco has been part of Western Kentucky’s agricultural history for centuries, and a new dVd informs people about its long existence and continued importance today.

the one-hour dVd, “Farming in the Black Patch,” showcases the still-working Smith Family Farm in Calloway County that has grown dark-fired tobacco for 10 generations. the video premiered nov. 5, 2012, at murray State university, and its producers hope that PBS stations throughout the country will eventually televise it.

“my father, Billy Smith, still owns Smith Family Farm and talked with me one day about documenting the history of dark tobacco farming in Western Kentucky,”

says Bobbie Bryant, promoter of the film. “i contacted michael Breeding media in lexington about the video idea, and michael did a fine job with the production.”

Bryant says the dVd features a wealth of information about the longtime crop, with interviews from farmers, bankers and historians.

“We hope KEt (Kentucky Educational television) will eventually agree to air the video, followed by additional PBS affiliates after that,” she says. “dark tobacco remains a functioning industry that still provides jobs and continues to have a market today. But one day it will be gone and lost in time. this dVd will help remember it.”

– Kevin Litwin

that long-term uncertainties face tobacco’s future, whether it is FDA regulations or rising labor costs. These uncertainties have been limiting Kentucky farmers from reinvesting heavily in the industry – at least for the time being.”

Despite these hurdles, many Kentucky farmers still consider tobacco to be profitable.

– Kevin Litwin


http://www.kysheepandgoat.org


more than 40 percent oF all timber and wood sales at Roy Anderson Lumber Company in Tompkinsville and Eubank derive from exports to foreign countries. Ten years ago, exports accounted for only 10 percent of the company’s lumber business.

“We began exporting to Europe in the 1980s, but the European market started drying up around 2003, just when the Chinese market began to take off,” says Lowery Anderson, who co-owns Roy Anderson Lumber Company with his brother, David. “Nowadays, the European market comprises less than three percent of our total

business because their economy is still unstable, while in 2012 we will export 700 to 1,000 full containers of lumber to China. That’s a lot of lumber.”

To secure even more foreign business, Anderson corresponds with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture to stay informed about international trade shows that are coming up.

china, india and MalaySia Jonathan Van Balen, import/export adviser for the

Kentucky Department of Agriculture, says timber and wood product sales contributed $77 million to Kentucky’s

Exports to China benefit Kentucky’s lumber industry

TOP CROPS

TreesIt Growson

Brothers lowery and david Anderson co-own Roy Anderson lumber Company in tompkinsville. the Kentucky lumber company exports to foreign countries including China and mexico.

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economy in 2011, and lumber now accounts for 10 percent of Kentucky’s total agricultural exports each year.

“Kentucky is a member of the American Hardwood Export Council, so we have access to their trade leads, plus we can promote our forest and lumber products at any trade shows that the AHEC organizes,” Van Balen says. “If you are a Kentucky lumber company, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture will help you.”

exPorting tiPS Van Balen says China is currently the hottest foreign

market for Kentucky lumber, and Van Balen himself traveled to China in June 2012 to oversee booth spaces for 19 U.S. businesses – including two from Kentucky. One of those Commonwealth companies in attendance was Somerset Wood Products.

“We had positive discussions with quite a few business representatives we met at the 2012 China show,” says Troy Jamieson, lumber sales director for Somerset Wood Products. “Our company has now taken several trips to China and with the ag department’s help, China has become a good part of our business.”

nothing goeS to WaSte Kentucky is the third-largest hardwood-producing

state in the eastern United States.“Most of the lumber industry in Kentucky is in private

hands, on private land, so the lumber is easily accessible for cutting,” Jamieson says. “Plus, the industry is planting and growing more hardwoods than it is cutting, and nothing goes to waste. For example, we take all our sawdust waste and compress it into wood pellets, then package them in bags to sell as biofuel for wood stove customers throughout the country. Even the bark from trees is made into mulch.”

– Kevin Litwin

Kentucky is the third-largest hardwood-producing state in the eastern u.S., and Roy Anderson lumber Company in tompkinsville will export between 700 and 1,000 full containers of lumber to China in 2012.

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KENTUCKY ExPORTS

GINSENG

TOP fIvE DEsTInATIOns fOR KEnTUCKY ExPORTs: 1. CAnADA

2. AUsTRALIA 3. UnITED KInGDOM 4. JAPAn 5. IRELAnD

In 2011, Kentucky’s exports totaled just under

$1.3 billion.

Kentucky was ranked

24thin the nation in forest

products exports in 2011.

Exports of Kentucky’s lumber and logs totaled $45.07 million in 2011,

38 percent of all forestry product exports.

ExPORTs Of LUMbER

AnD LOGs fROM KEnTUCKY

TOTALED $45.07 MILLIOn

In 2011.

Plenty to root ForKentucky exports wild ginseng to the Far East

Kentucky is one of 19 states with a wild ginseng program in place, thanks to the Commonwealth having an abundance of forested habitat that is ideal for growing the plant.

“daniel Boone was actually an early trader of wild ginseng,” says Jonathan Van Balen, import/export adviser with the Kentucky department of Agriculture. “today, the plant is especially popular in Asia but overharvesting there has made it increasingly rare, so Kentucky is exporting ginseng to countries like China, Hong Kong and South Korea. We have a specific program in place to monitor exports because we don’t want overharvesting to occur here, too.”

here’S the dirtAnyone in Kentucky can harvest wild ginseng, digging it up

by the roots – the roots are the valuable part of the plant. it takes 300 ginseng roots to make one pound of dried ginseng, and there are thousands of harvesters who pick ginseng every late summer and fall. However, they must follow specific rules to ensure sustainability of the species for future generations.

“American ginseng is protected by a 1975 treaty called CitES – the Convention on international trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora,” says Anna lucio, Kentucky department of Agriculture marketing specialist. “the treaty makes sure that ginseng isn’t overharvested in a way that is detrimental to its overall survival.”

SeVen yearS to MatureRegulations state that ginseng roots can’t be picked in Kentucky

until the leaves have three prongs, indicating that the plant is at least five years old. once picked, berries from every uprooted plant must be replanted by hand within 50 feet of the harvested plant. it takes 18 months for a seedling to germinate, and a plant becomes fully mature in 7-10 years.

“the picking season is Sept. 1 to dec. 1, and harvesters can sell green (moist) roots beginning Sept. 1, but can’t sell dried ginseng until Sept. 15,” lucio says. “dried ginseng sales can then occur through march 31.”

150 ginSeng dealerS lucio says once roots are obtained by harvesters, they can only

sell ginseng to authorized Kentucky ginseng export dealers. All dealers must obtain a license from the department of Agriculture that allows them to export the product.

to learn more, check the Kentucky department of Agriculture website at www.kyagr.com and go to Programs, then Ginseng.

– Kevin Litwin

http://www.kyagr.com


as the Farm-to-Fork way oF thinking becomes increasingly popular, consumers want to know more than ever where their food comes from. For Kentucky farmers and businesses, it’s important to answer those inquiries with more than just a product.

The Kentucky Proud program was created to link producers and consumers, while providing information on the hardworking businesses that deliver the state’s highest-quality agriculture products.

Through the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund, any state business that grows, raises or produces agricultural products can become a member of Kentucky Proud. The program features a two-year grant initiative. However, funds are usually given to a business or farm with a significant economic impact on Kentucky agriculture income. The program’s main mission is to boost the state’s economy by increasing the value of locally grown products.

Currently boasting 3,000 members, the 10-year-old program features a popular Restaurant Rewards

initiative, which provides assistance to Kentucky restaurants and other food services that buy state-grown or -raised foods to sell. The rewards program provides up to $12,000 annually to help restaurants increase marketing efforts and offset the sometimes steep price of buying locally.

Ouita Michel, owner of the Holly Hill Inn, Wallace Station and Windy Corner Market restaurants, has been a member of the program since the beginning and has found it an extremely beneficial networking tool. “The program is great for meeting lots of farmers and sources for ingredients,” says Michel. “It really brings you into the loop of the local agriculture community.”

She also emphasizes how important the brand of Kentucky Proud has been to her businesses. “The department has done an amazing job at developing the Kentucky Proud brand,” she adds. “There is no other brand name that you can put on a menu that competes with Kentucky Proud. It really captures the values of Kentucky, while communicating our commitment to the state and using local products.”

Marketing program connects farmers and consumers to promote Kentucky products


Kentucky PROud

mAKInG

1


1bOURbOn sMOKED sPICEs

louisville’s Bourbon Barrel Foods’ specialties include gourmet

sauces, seasonings and sugars.

2bOOnE CREEK CREAMERY ChEEsEthis lexington cheesemaker crafts

artisan cheese by hand using European techniques.

3wEIsEnbERGER MUffIn MIxEs

owned and operated for six generations, the products include flours, cornmeal and bread mixes.

4hEPnER hOnEYbEE fARMs hOnEY

this farm family sells honey, skincare products and pure beeswax candles.

5hOT 2 TROT KEnTUCKY hORsERADIsh sAUCE

this sauce is crafted with spicy horseradish root grown

in Shelby County.

6TRUE KEnTUCKY sALsA

traditional Kentucky recipes with fresh-picked ingredients

go into these salsas.

7JD COUnTRY MILK

this family-owned dairy farm ships low-temperature pasteurized milk

and butter across the state.

8LExInGTOn PAsTA

this custom pasta is made with central Kentucky’s

freshest ingredients.

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5

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7


raising local SupportState businesses bank on agriculture

no farms. no food. the message is simple and clear. America’s farmers and ranchers provide an abundance of fresh, healthy and local foods, but over the past decade, thinking has turned to the demands of feeding a rapidly growing population with the land and resources on hand. Fortunately, Kentucky farmers are gathering support within their own communities.

independence Bank understands supporting local foods and farms is more important than ever. they have sponsored a number of events to show their appreciation and commitment to local farmers. located in western Kentucky, this community business is one of the largest agricultural lending agencies in the nation, allowing producers the opportunity to grow and expand their operations with relative ease.

“i think we are somewhat unique in the fact that we are a community bank that hasn’t forgotten where we come from,” says Wayne mattingly, an agricultural lender at independence Bank. “Agriculture has allowed our community to become what it is, and it will continue to be a major part of our growth over the next 30 to 40 years.”

that commitment and support is reflected in events such as the Sounds of independence concert hosted by independence Bank in may 2012. more than 8,000 people attended a John mellencamp concert to benefit Farm Aid, a nonprofit organization working to keep family farmers on their land. the concert highlighted local Kentucky Proud foods.

Additionally, independence Bank donated $50,000 to support Farm Aid efforts.

“independence Bank, Farm Aid and the Kentucky department of Agriculture all make agriculture a priority,” says Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer. “We all want consumers to support and buy Kentucky products wherever they can. it’s good for the consumer. it’s good for the farmer. it’s good for Kentucky.”

Both independence Bank and Farm Aid plan to continue supporting the Kentucky agricultural community. For more information on the services provided by the organizations and a list of upcoming events, visit www.1776bank.com/agriculture-services or www.farmaid.com.

– Beverley Kreul

According to Jennifer Mueller, business development director of marketing at the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, the program has grown significantly since its inception.

“Brand awareness is increasing constantly,” Mueller says. “We’ve also expanded away from just food to represent all Kentucky businesses. We recently added equine to the program.” The department is hoping these expansions will help the program grow in awareness, as well as economic impact.

One of Agriculture Commissioner James Comer’s new initiatives is a 100 percent Kentucky Proud branding program, which highlights companies that use only Kentucky-grown products. A partnership between Kentucky Proud, USA Cares and the Veterans Administration will soon launch the Homegrown by Heroes program, which pairs Kentucky producers with returning veterans. This program will allow

producers to become mentors to the veterans with the goal of developing these beginning farmers and allowing the producers to utilize the Homegrown by Heroes brand.

Kentucky Proud is also working to better its website and member database, along with redesigning its electronic newsletter to manage members more efficiently. “Kentucky Proud is the single most effective marketing program in agriculture, so we must find new ways to strengthen and improve it,” Comer says.

The Kentucky Proud program

understands that for its members, the consumer is critical. Without consumers, producers would not succeed in business. Following this philosophy, the program educates both businesses and customers on the importance of buying local.

As the program continues to grow, Comer says it is important to drive home its support of the entire state in efforts and services.

“Kentucky Proud is one of those programs every Kentuckian appreciates. It is who we are.”

– Rachel Bertone

3,000the 10-year-old Kentucky Proud program

currently boasts 3,000 members.

$12,000the restaurant rewards program

provides up to $12,000 annually to help offset costs of buying local ingredients.

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http://www.1776bank.com/agriculture-services

http://www.farmaid.com

http://www.1776bank.com/agriculture-services


S ince the day Jeremy Ashby opened the doors of his restaurant seven years ago,

he has engaged in what he calls “enlightened hospitality.”

“It’s a commitment to the strong, growing tradition of our Kentucky agricultural heritage,” he says. “That’s where enlightened hospitality starts, and it ends in the support for the local food movement, for the small family farming operations in the state and for the use of more Kentucky Proud ingredients.”

As chef and partner of Azur Restaurant in Lexington, Ashby puts his money where his mouth is, buying and preparing a variety of local foods for his customers. Depending on the season, Azur’s menu could include free-range chicken, farm-raised fish, and a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables from local producers like Duncan Farms, Aquaculture of Kentucky and Food Leaf Farms.

Local foods provide the inspiration for the Azur menu. Ashby and his staff provide the culinary expertise to create unique dishes with lots of Kentucky ingredients tossed with an international flavor and served with contemporary flair. The Department of Agriculture provides support through Restaurant Rewards, a program that reimburses restaurants and other food service providers up to 20 percent of the cost of the Kentucky Proud products they purchase each year.

“It’s a great incentive,” says Ashby. “Local farmers work hard, and the hard work is reflected in more expensive prices for their products, sometimes 20 to 30

percent more. The rebate program really levels the playing field for the farmer and allows us to support the local food movement without bearing all the cost.”

eating it uPHeirloom Restaurant in Midway

also participates in the Restaurant Rewards program. Owner and chef Mark Wombles is committed to supporting Kentucky family farms and fills his menu with dishes like organic roasted chicken from Pike Valley Farm, hickory-smoked brisket appetizers and pork sliders from Marksbury Farms, and BLTs featuring Kentucky heirloom tomatoes.

“The program makes a big difference in what I buy,” says Wombles. “It’s a great way to

encourage the purchase of locally grown products, which benefits both the farmers and the businesses. And that helps the local economy overall, especially in tough times.”

Heirloom and Azur are just two of the more than 200 restaurants and food services participating in the Restaurant Rewards program. Angela Caporelli, the program’s director, says the approximately $125,000 in reimbursements, which come from the Kentucky Proud marketing program, translates into more than $1 million in direct farm gate value.

Learn more at www.kyagr.com/marketing. For additional information, contact Caporelli at (502) 564-4983.

—Cathy Lockman

Program encourages restaurants to buy local


Restaurant Rewards

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http://www.kyagr.com/marketing

http://www.kyagr.com/marketing


kentucky may be known for its bourbon, but there’s another adult beverage with deep roots here – wine. In fact, the first commercial vineyard in America was established on the Kentucky River in 1799, and by the mid-19th century, the Commonwealth was the third largest wine-producing state in the country.

Prohibition changed things for the bourbon and wine industries,

shuttering both. While Kentucky’s distilleries recovered quickly when Prohibition was repealed, the vineyards did not. In fact, the resurgence in Kentucky winemaking is only a decade old. It may have taken a long time to reestablish the industry, but it is quickly paying dividends for enterprising vintners, local economies and the state’s agritourism industry.

“Ten years ago, Kentucky had only two or three wineries, but today, there are 68 small farm, licensed wineries in the state, and five or six more opening each year,” says Tyler Madison, director of the Grape and Wine Program for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.

Much growth can be attributed to the fact that many farmers see grapes as a viable replacement crop

Burgeoning wine industry grows as commercial vineyards open

GRAPE Expectations


tom Beall owns the First Vineyard in nicholasville. the vineyard sits on the same property in Jessamine County where the first commercial vineyard in America was established, operating until the mid-1800s. Beall has worked to restore the vineyard and gather history and artifacts that tell the story of the land.

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for tobacco, he says. It also helps that Kentucky’s mild climate and limestone soil replicates conditions in successful grape-growing regions across the world.

The commitment to establishing vineyards, which take three to four years to produce grapes, has resulted in annual production of 1.36 million gallons of wine from just 600 acres of land. Tim Woods of the University of Kentucky’s Department of Agricultural Economics is studying the economic impact of the Commonwealth’s wineries. Preliminary findings show an additional $1 million increase in winery sales statewide would result in $486,000 of extra revenue for Kentucky.

hiStory in the MaKing More than half of Kentucky’s

wineries feature tasting rooms. One of the newest opened in summer 2012 at First Vineyard, aptly named because it sits on the same property in Jessamine County where that first vineyard was established, operating until the mid-1800s.

Tom Beall bought the land in 1994 thinking it would be a beautiful, scenic retreat for his family. In 2002, Beall, an avid historian, discovered the land was the site of the first commercial vineyard in the United States, established by John James Dufour. The venture was financed by dignitaries such as then-Secretary of State Henry Clay, Congressman John Brown, Gov. James Gerard, and more than 100 others who founded the Vineyard Society.

“When I learned that the tract had been the site of the first vineyard, I knew that I wanted to preserve that history,” says Beall. “It’s less about making a livelihood and more about educating people about the area, the industry and the era.”

That’s why Beall has worked diligently to restore the vineyard, maintaining an on-site library housing information and artifacts that tell the original winery’s story, and adding a tasting room in keeping with Dufour’s design. After much

research and contact with the USDA to locate cuttings, he’s also reintroduced the Cape grapevines that Dufour planted more than 200 years ago. His tasting room features wines made from the two acres of vines on the property, which include Cape, Reisling, Vignole and Diamond.

Beall is passionate about maintaining the integrity of his property for its historical significance and sharing that history – and his wine – with visitors.

“We have great wineries in this area,” he says. “In fact, there are six wineries within 20 miles of mine. Encouraging people to see this area as a vacation destination where they can enjoy the wine and the other activities available can make an impact on the local economy.”

Wine & dine Ben and Jeanie O’Daniel’s wine

story is much different from Beall’s. Ben O’Daniel’s family-owned Springhill Winery in central Kentucky, and his wife’s family established Highland Winery in eastern Kentucky. Winemaking was in their blood, and marriage was in their future. The result was the establishment of Jean Farris Winery and Bistro in Lexington. The O’Daniels bought the land in 2003 and opened in June 2006.

Their operation focuses on the idea that food and wine should be enjoyed together. “We want our customers to have an experience with their wine,” says Ben O’Daniel. “Here, they can sit in the dining room or on the patio looking out on the rural landscape and enjoy our Kentucky cuisine, which we prepare with a French slant. We serve lots of vegetables out of our own garden, so when they come to our winery and restaurant, they can enjoy both fresh food and some of the best wines.”

Many of their wines are award-winning. Jean Farris is the only winery outside California to earn a double gold designation in the San Francisco wine competition.

– Cathy Lockman

the First Vineyard produces J.J. dufour Concord Wine, named for the country’s first commercial vineyard founder John James dufour, who established his vineyard on the same land in Jessamine County.

http://www.kycattle.org

http://www.kybeef.com


http://www.kyproud.com


K entucky pride coupled with Commonwealth know-how has been a successful recipe

for Kenny Mattingly, who began his cheese-making business to ensure the survival of his family’s dairy farm.

“We like to say, ‘We’re damn Kentucky proud,’” says the founder of Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese. “We take pride in producing quality cheeses that are made on the same farm where the cows are milked. It’s a value-added model of agriculture that allows us to build a strong family business, create jobs and make a quality local product.”

And they make a lot of it. The 130 cows on the Mattingly dairy farm produce nearly 2.5 million pounds of milk (100 pounds of milk is equivalent to 11 gallons, which will make about nine pounds of cheese). Half of that milk is used for the cheesemaking operation, which translates into 120,000 pounds of Cheddar, Swiss, Havarti and other cheeses made on site each year. Specialty selections include other local ingredients, like a favorite Colby that is made with chipotles Mattingly purchases from a Kentucky Proud grower and a cheese that is washed in Amber Ale from Bluegrass Brewing Company.

Business is booming for Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese, with an average of 25 percent to 30 percent growth each year. To accommodate for that growth, Mattingly recently opened a new facility on the farm that houses an underground cheese-aging room, a new creamery and packaging operations. They also have a store on premises

where visitors can purchase cheese, and their cheeses are also available at local farmers markets, online and in restaurants across the region.

KentucKy inSPired Ed Puterbaugh is a cheesemaker,

too, but first, he was a microbiologist. His scientific background and interest in the local food movement inspired him to pursue artisan cheesemaking and open his own business, Boone Creek Creamery in Lexington, five years ago.

“All of the work is done by hand here,” Puterbaugh says. “We don’t use modern equipment, because we find that by gently processing the curds we can protect the butterfat and flavor of the cheese.”

Boone Creek Creamery cheeses are sold online, as well as at local

farmers markets and grocery stores. “We produce a lot of cheeses, like old world Cheddars, that have almost become extinct,” Puterbaugh says. “I spend a lot of time perfecting recipes.”

Some of those recipes include Kentucky-inspired collaborations, like his Blackberry Serenade Gruyere, which is soaked in wine from Smith-Berry Vineyards in New Castle, and Kentucky Derby, a Cheddar made with bourbon from Woodford Reserve in Versailles. He has also just introduced a Scandinavian bread cheese that he says pairs perfectly with fresh Kentucky tomatoes.

“When people ask me the best way to enjoy artisan cheeses, I just suggest they enjoy them often,” Puterbaugh laughs.

—Cathy Lockman

Local artisan cheese makers are Kentucky Proud


Say Cheese, Please



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one oF the most popular giFts sold at Kentucky’s bourbon distilleries is a bottle filled with grains – corn, wheat, rye and barley.

It’s a fitting symbol of one of Kentucky’s signature products. But it’s also a message in a bottle; a tribute to the centuries-old agricultural history and tradition that make Kentucky bourbon.

Over the past decade, the Kentucky Bourbon Trail™ experience and tours at Kentucky’s bourbon distilleries have not only contributed to an explosion in bourbon sales and exports, they’ve connected hundreds of thousands to the sights and smells of Kentucky agriculture.

“We say The Kentucky Bourbon Trail™ is where the spirit leads you,” says Kentucky Distillers’ Association President Eric Gregory, “and it has led more than two million people to the Bluegrass in the last five years. We are the one, true, authentic home for bourbon, and its history and heritage can’t be duplicated anywhere else.”

Chris Morris, master distiller at Woodford Reserve, points out that his distillery has its roots as a 500-acre

Bourbon is rooted in ag and tradition

master distiller Chris morris at Woodford Reserve in Versailles. Bourbon must be at least 51 percent corn, with other grains like malted barley, rye and wheat.

Spiritnative


working family farm with cattle and grain owned by Oscar Pepper. The farm couldn’t store grains for long, so it established a gristmill for making bourbon. When Pepper died in 1865, his obituary listed him first as a farmer, then as a distiller.

“So you can say our roots are definitely in agriculture,” Morris says.

hiStory oF a naMeEarly Kentucky farmers had

trouble getting their crops to larger markets over Kentucky’s rough, steep terrain. Converting corn to whiskey and bottling it was a practical way to send it beyond the Commonwealth’s borders. It was shipped in large oak barrels and labeled according to its county of origin, Bourbon County, which was much larger than it is today. By the time the liquor reached its destinations, it had turned amber. Folks in those far-off destinations who liked the drink saw Bourbon

etched on the oak barrels and the whiskey got its name.

Contrary to popular myth, bourbon does not have to be distilled in Kentucky to earn the name, but most of it is.

Transportation methods have changed dramatically, but the essential process behind bourbon distillation hasn’t. The main ingredient – by law 51 percent or more – is still corn.

Most of the corn that goes into bourbon is grown in Kentucky. The other grains – wheat, rye and barley – grow better in northern climes, but they’re often purchased through local co-ops.

One thing slow to change in the bourbon industry is its relationship to farmers.

“Many distilleries have had the same farm contracts for generations,” Gregory says. “Any change in the quality of the corn can impact the product. They like working with the same farmer, and the same quality and the same control measures.”

Future oF bourbonThe bourbon industry has seen

four percent job growth in the last decade, while the rest of the manufacturing base in Kentucky was shrinking, according to a University of Louisville economic impact study completed in January 2012.

Only three of 244 manufacturing industries in Kentucky have more jobs and a higher spin-off factor: automobiles, meat packing and light trucks/utility vehicles. The industry cites 9,000 direct and spin-off jobs in Kentucky with an annual payroll of $415 million.

Even on a national scale, Kentucky ranks high. Nearly half of all distilling jobs are in Kentucky, and bourbon is the largest export among all distilled spirits.

Industry analysts and the distilleries themselves expect the revolution to continue. Kentucky has 491 million barrels stockpiled. For most industries, stockpiling huge amounts of goods is a bad thing. For bourbon, “high inventory is a good thing,” Gregory says. It means everyone feels comfortable that growth is going to continue.

– Chris Poore

master distiller Chris morris with Woodford Reserve’s bourbon stills at the distillery in Versailles.

http://www.kta-ktob.com


Must be aged at least two years

to be called

“sTRAIGhT”bourbon.


only 3 of 244manufacturing industries in Kentucky have more jobs and a higher spin-off factor: automobiles, meat packing & light trucks/utility vehicles.

Production has increased by more than

115 percentsince 1999

(455,078 barrels to 988,407 barrels in 2010).

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derek braun learned to ride horses in New York, moved to Florida to train and traveled across the country and the world to compete in – and win – show jumping championships. When it came time for him to find a place he could call home, Braun and his wife, Gwen, chose Kentucky. Horses were the reason.

“This is truly a place where not only do we feel completely at home, but we also have all the opportunities to build a successful, high-caliber business in the horse industry,” says Braun, who founded Split Rock Farm, a show jumping facility, in 2007.

Kentucky’s horse industry includes not only sport horses, the kind Braun trains and rides, but also thoroughbreds and recreational horses that together make up the state’s $4 billion equine industry. With an estimated 320,000 horses in the Commonwealth, breeding, raising, training, showing, racing and just plain enjoying horses is big business.

According to the Kentucky Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, horses are a key driver of the state’s $10 billion tourism industry, and generate or

support between 80,000 and 100,000 direct and indirect jobs in the state. Their economic impact includes monies directly related to breeding and selling the animals, as well as expenses for their care, such as local veterinarians, feed stores, and truck and trailer dealers. Hotels, restaurants and other businesses also benefit from local races, shows and other horse-related events.

unbridled enthuSiaSMOne of those events was the 2010 World Equestrian

Games® held at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington. Braun says the Games gave the state the opportunity to showcase the park’s “state-of-the-art, world-class facility” to horse enthusiasts from around the world.

“The park has become the premier show-jumping facility in the country. It even rivals the facilities in Europe,” where equestrian sports, are among the most popular sports, Braun explains.

“People want to show here because of the strong infrastructure for sport horses and the amenities. They want to live here to be closer to the action and because

Kentucky’s equine industry rides beyond Thoroughbreds

ANIMALS & LIvESTOCK

Straight from the

HORSE’Smouth

clockwise from top: A group of mountain foals running in the rain at Van Bert Farms in Stanton; Caitlin maloney grooms a horse before riding at Split Rock Farm, a full service hunter and jumper training facility in lexington; A mountain horse trains through an obstacle course at Van Bert Farms.


photography By Brian mccord


the area has so much to offer. Kentucky’s central location also makes it easy for people to travel to competitions in other parts of the country. “

Ginny Grulke, director of the Kentucky Horse Council, agrees, saying “the World Equestrian Games® really kicked off growth in the sport horse industry in the state. They saw the farms and the infrastructure, and many brought their primary or secondary operations here. The timing is perfect because they are buying the farms being sold by those who raised thoroughbreds,” she explains.

MaKing StrideS The recreational horse industry

is also making strides in the state, says Grulke, but the interest is coming from a different demographic – Baby Boomers. As people retire, they are looking at Kentucky as a place where they can enjoy a great quality of life and also have time to enjoy the pleasures of owning and riding a horse.

It’s a pleasure that Vanessa Crowe has enjoyed personally and professionally, growing up at Van Bert Farms in Stanton. Today, she works at the farm, which breeds, sells, and trains mountain horses. These breeds have a smooth gait, a docile temperament and the stamina to carry riders over long distances and tough terrain, explains Crowe.

Crowe sees the potential for interested Baby Boomers to help grow the recreational industry, but she also says people don’t know what they’re missing unless they have a chance to see the horses.

“We need fresh minds and entrepreneurs to create new events that mimic the World Equestrian Games®, so that we bring in an international audience and create publicity and excitement over what we have to offer here,” says the aspiring Olympian. “My business has grown in the past five years, and 80 percent of the reason why is because I located it in central Kentucky.”

– Cathy Lockman

mountain foals at Van Bert Farms in Stanton, which offers recreational trail rides to visitors.

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KENTUCKY ECONOMIC IMPACT OF HORSES ON STATE’S ECONOMY

According to the 2007 census, Kentucky was ranked second in sales with

$9.5 millionand 5,391 equine farms.

$8.8 billioneconomic impact on state’s tourism industry, which

features equine as its signature promotional attraction.

In 2009, KEnTUCKY PRODUCED

44.9%Of ALL ThOROUGhbRED

fOALs bORn In nORTh AMERICA.

ThERE ARE

320,000 horses

In KEnTUCKY; MORE ThAn 50% ARE InvOLvED In shOwInG

AnD RECREATIOn.

AvERAGE ThOROUGhbRED fARM sIzE:

300 acres

In 2007, Kentucky breeds earned more than

$430 million at race tracks in the

United States and Canada.Sources: kta-ktob.com, kentuckyhorse.org, horseswork.com

ANIMALS & LIvESTOCK


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as the no. 1 agricultural commodity in Kentucky, the poultry industry is anything but chicken feed. In fact, poultry and eggs are a $900 million industry. They account for just over 18 percent of the state’s total farm receipts, and poultry is one of the top five exports.

It’s an industry that has made a large investment in facilities across the state. With five broiler hatcheries, two primary breeder hatcheries, six feed mills, four processing plants, three egg layer complexes and a protein conversion plant, which together employ more than 7,000 people, poultry is big business in Kentucky. And that doesn’t count the impact on individual farmers in the state, both those who own poultry farms as well as those who grow corn and soybeans.

“Every third row of corn in Kentucky goes to growing poultry, as does 30 percent of the beans,” says Jamie Guffey of the Kentucky Poultry Federation. That amounts to 36 million bushels of Kentucky corn and 335,000 tons of Kentucky soybeans used as feed.

a bird’S-eye VieWThe state has nearly 850 poultry farmers, the majority

of which are owned and managed by a family farmer and consist of less than five poultry houses. Doug Hall, owner of WP Ranch, is one of those 850 poultry farmers. He is also one of about 175 contract growers who supply birds for Pilgrim’s processing plant in Mayfield.

Hall’s farm has four poultry houses, each about 40 feet by 520 feet long and housing approximately 29,000 birds. He explains that Pilgrim’s provides the chicks, which are

Industry ranks high among state’s commodities, exports

Poultry POWER

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delivered by semi-tractors within a day of hatching, and the feed. Hall and his wife, Dianna Johnson, provide the climate-controlled houses, the water and the labor to care for the birds as they grow in size from 3 ounces when they arrive to nearly 4 pounds when finished.

The process takes about 35 days for those who grow for the Mayfield plant, which supplies chickens for restaurants such as Kentucky Fried Chicken and Chick-fil-A.

“When the chicks are delivered, we close off half of the barn because that’s the best atmosphere for brooding,” says Hall. “As they grow, we open up more of the barn.” Hall constantly checks the houses to ensure that the flock is receiving adequate food, water and ventilation. He also monitors the flock for mortality, which he explains is usually less than 2 percent of the flock, and removes those chickens.

When the semi-tractors return for the finished chickens, Hall lowers the lights in the poultry houses while workers hand catch the birds, place them in cages and load the cages back on the trucks. The Halls spend the next 10 days or so cleaning the poultry houses so they’re ready for the next flock.

WaSte notMultiply four barns by 29,000

chickens by seven or eight turns per year by the 12 years Hall has been in business, and that equals a lot of chickens – and a lot of waste. In 2010, the Halls decided to turn that waste into compost as a way to add more value to their farm operation.

To make the compost, Hall transfers the chicken waste, which contains nitrogen, to a litter barn where he mixes it with wood chips, which provides a carbon source. He ensures that the moisture level of the compost pile is kept up, and he turns it every three days. In six to seven months, the compost is rich with microorganisms, which makes it a great fertilizer. Hall bags it and sells it himself.

– Cathy Lockman

doug Hall holds his compost soil product made from chicken manure at WP Ranch in Benton.

Program helps prepare calves for back grounding, feedlots

Bettering Bovines

ANIMALS & LIvESTOCK

In cattle farmIng, reputatIon Is everything. And in the late 1970s, Kentucky cattle were rapidly becoming the Chevy Corvairs of the national beef industry.

The problem? Calves sent from Kentucky farms to western feedlots were too often sick or dying before harvest.

Kentucky needed a solution – fast.Officials and farmers came up with the Certified

Pre-Conditioned for Health (45) program, which better prepares calves for back grounding or feedlots.

Thirty-three years later, the CPH45 blue tag in the center of a cow’s right ear means not only that the

animal is healthy, but that it is likely to command a higher price at sales.

“I think it has really helped the industry,” says Preston Seals, a Berea farmer with around 60 cows certified through CPH45. “I hear a lot of people at the feedlots make comments that they like to see those blue tags coming in.”

ProFiting FroM healthy calVeSwithout CPH45, calves are often sold “green,”

meaning they are sent to a buyer immediately after being weaned. They go to a feedlot having only had food from their mothers and water from ponds. when they get to a lot, they’re stressed from being away


troy ellis keeps about 120 cPh45 cattle on his farm in hadley.


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from their mothers and traveling long distances and are exposed to countless new animals that could harbor new diseases. They’re also offered food from bunks and water from automatic waterers for the first time, and the animals are typically dangerously slow to adapt.

With CPH45 certification, farmers are required to hold on to the calves for 45-60 days (the average is 50) after weaning. Cows are vaccinated and trained to eat bunk feed and drink from automatic waterers. They are also castrated, dehorned, dewormed and get a steady diet of important minerals. The cattle still go through some stress. But after two weeks or so separated from the mother, they’re usually able to adapt.

“This program is a little bit different from some; some just give them a round of shots,” says Roy Burris, extension beef specialist and an extension professor for animal sciences at the University of Kentucky. “This program is meant to do everything we possibly can to improve their chances in a feedlot.”

All that added preparation can mean some nice black numbers on balance sheets. In a good year, a CPH45 farmer can add $50 to $100 in value to a typical calf.

For Seals, who keeps 50 or 60 cows, that can mean as much as $6,000.

“That’s real money,” Seals says. “And that’s money that you would have left on the table.”

The program especially adds value for small farmers who can’t command the higher prices that large lots of cattle get at market. Kentucky officials started offering a marketing component that allows CPH45 cattle to be grouped together at sales. Cows from several CPH45 farmers can be grouped together for buyers who will pay a premium for large lots.

riSKS VS reWardSThere’s always some risk after putting in more work

and money that beef prices will fall at the end of 45 days. But in 33 years, Burris says CPH45 farmers have come out behind only three times, usually because of some kind of national problem such as a bovine spongiform encephalopathy scare.

“Three years that have lost money out of 33 years,” Burris says. “That’s a pretty good track record.”

Those odds feel good to Troy Ellis, a CPH45 farmer in Hadley, who keeps about 120 cows. He estimates that after extra feed and materials, he brings in $100-$150 and profits $50-$100 per calf. He said he’s only come out behind in two out of the last 10 years.

Ellis suspects that standards similar to CPH45 will become more rule than exception. More and more buyers and consumers are going to want products from conditioned, well-treated cattle.

Seals feels the same way. “I’m trying to furnish the food service industry out

there with a good product,” Seals says. “I’m putting good beef out there for the consumer. I think I can almost guarantee that the beef that comes off my farm is healthy and clean and about the best you can find.”

– Chris Poore

Kentucky is the top beef cattle

state east of the Mississippi River.

ThE sTATE Is hOME T0

2.19 MbEEf CATTLE.

troy Ellis keeps around 120 cattle on his certified CPH45 farm in Hadley. He estimates that after extra feed and materials, he profits $50 to $100 per calf.


KEnTUCKY’s TOP EAsEMEnT ACREAGE

the crops and livestock that grow on acres of farmland across Kentucky provide food for consumers, raw materials for businesses and stimulus for the state’s economy. So when acres are sold to make way for a different kind of growth – residential and commercial development – it can carry a hefty and long-term price tag.

That’s because the loss of farmland, and the benefits it provides for consumers and communities, is permanent. Add to that the costs needed to provide services for new developments, from sewers and roads to police and fire protection,

and it’s easy to see that the loss of farmland is a costly proposition for communities. But the sale of that land may also be an opportunity for farm families to pay off debt, finance new purchases or settle an inheritance.

To address these concerns and encourage the preservation of agricultural land across the state, the Kentucky General Assembly established the Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement (PACE) Corporation in 1994. The program uses protective easements, which are basically contracts between the property owner and the government, to preserve the land

for agricultural use. The landowners agree that they won’t develop their land. In turn, they receive a benefit – either through a direct payment or through tax breaks.

“The program is important because it recognizes the economic and cultural value of the family farm. At the same time, it allows the owner to capitalize on their asset without liquidating it,” says Adam Watson of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. “For some farmers, that means they can basically use the equity they have in their farmland to send their children to college or expand their operations or even

Program provides conservation easements to preserve farmland

Good Growth

ENvIRONMENT & CONSERvATION

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shELbY


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provide the finances to bring in the next generation of farmers.”

it PayS to donateAlthough PACE was established

to purchase conservation easements, landowners are also encouraged to donate easements in order to dedicate their land to agricultural uses. Those who make such donations may receive federal and state income tax and estate tax benefits.

Since the program began, nearly $20 million has been spent to purchase 96 easements, and 66 easements have been donated. That’s 162 easements, or nearly 32,000 acres, in 31 counties across the state, with Logan, Mercer and Shelby counties having the largest easement acreage.

Another important aspect of the program, says Watson, is the agreement with Fort Campbell’s Army Compatible Use Buffer (ACUB) program, which allows for easements to prevent development in the flight paths of the rotary-winged aircraft used there. PACE is a cooperating partner with the U.S. Department of Defense and currently holds nine easements purchased through an agreement with ACUB. “These properties are some of the best soils for farming in the entire

state, so it’s a win-win situation for both partners,” says Watson.

Valued acreSEasement value is determined

using two figures: (1) the fair market value of the land according to its development potential and (2) the value of the land if its use is restricted to agriculture. The easement value falls somewhere between the two and is negotiated between the landowner and the PACE board.

For instance, a 200-acre farm appraised at $2,500 per acre if sold for development and valued at $1,200 per acre if maintained as farmland could provide a farmer with a $180,000 federal tax deduction over six years and a similar deduction in state tax.

Since each farm and each owner is unique and tax regulations often change, the best way to determine the value of an easement is to consult a tax professional.

Applications for easements, which are available online at www.kyagr.com, are ranked annually on Jan. 1 and July 1. To be considered for the January ranking, applications must be postmarked by Sept. 30. A postmark date of March 31 is required for the July ranking.

– Cathy Lockman

this row crop farm in Central Kentucky is part of the PACE land easement program.

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Department of Agriculture services help protect consumers

CONSUMER PROTECTION

Safeguarding PuBLICthe

Hannah Blair calibrates a weight set at the Kentucky department of Agriculture inspection facility in Frankfort.

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when you ask the public, “who provides the services that protect you?” many will list local police and fire departments or federal agencies, like the FBI, the CIA or the Department of Homeland Security. Few would include their state department of agriculture on that list.

But in Kentucky, several divisions in the Department of Agriculture do just that. For instance, the Office of Consumer & Environmental Protection provides a broad range of protection services, including pesticide regulation and food inspection. The Division of Regulation and Inspection has responsibilities ranging from inspecting gas pumps and testing scales to inspecting egg distributors and licensing amusement rides. In addition, the department has divisions that monitor animal health and even prepare for potential agriterrorism threats. In short, the department covers a lot of territory in an effort to protect consumers and farmers’ livelihood, as well as ensuring the public gets what it pays for.

Weighing inJason Glass, a member of the Weights & Measures

Inspection branch, says one important goal is to have a “fair and accurate system that consumers and businesses can rely on so that equity prevails in the marketplace.”

To make that happen, inspectors work in the field and in the metrology lab, checking scales and scanners across the state for accuracy. That can mean checking something like a point-of-sale scale in a grocery store to scales at livestock or grain facilities or truck weighing stations.

Inspectors also evaluate packaged commodities in stores to ensure the weight on the package or container is accurate. Scanners are checked for price verification. “We’re an objective, impartial third party,” says Glass. “We work to be sure that the consumers are getting what they pay for. By ensuring accurate weighing, we can protect the businesses, too, because inaccurate scales can hurt their bottom line as well.”

The same is true for fuel pumps, which the division inspects. Not only do they test pumps to make sure the quantity delivered is accurate and the price computed is correct, they also test motor fuel quality at the lab in Frankfort. However, Kentucky Agriculture

Jason Glass calibrates a 5-gallon test measure used by the department of agriculture’s Weights & measures inspection branch in Frankfort.

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We would like to thank everyone in Kentucky agriculture for their continuing support of our business and the ethanol industry. At CAE, we strive to provide value-added products from the farm.

Learn more about us at our website: www.commonwealthagrienergy.com

We provide clean-burning fuel at the highest octane available on the market today. Along with ethanol sold as E-10, E-85 for flex-fuel vehicles, and coming soon – E-15, CAE produces various co-products from corn: DDGS, Distillers Corn Oil, CO2 by Airgas – (food grade liquid and dry ice).

To learn more abouT our producTs:

For our distillers grains sales:www.ddgsnutrition.com (800) 333-9774, Ext. 1

For our ethanol sales:www.eco-energyinc.com (615) 786-0783

For additional information about the ethanol industry:www.ethanolrfa.org (202) 289-3835

Commissioner James Comer is currently exploring more efficient options to do this testing. “I think we can act as consumer protectors and taxpayer watchdogs at the same time,” says Comer.

The division runs the Kentucky metrology laboratories, which provide calibration services and technical guidance for private industries, scale and meter repair companies, other state agencies, and weights and measures inspectors within the division. These calibrations check and maintain the accuracy of the equipment used to set up, monitor, inspect and repair all types of scales and meters across the state.

Protecting health & WelFareRegulating the sale, distribution

and use of pesticides is another important task of the Department of Agriculture. It includes the use of pesticides by commercial, noncommercial and private applicators. By providing technical assistance and regulating licensing and certification, the department works to protect the general health of Kentuckians and the environment.

The Office of the Kentucky State Veterinarian, which is also a part of the Department of Agriculture, has the same goal. The office carefully monitors the health of animals as diverse as llama, pigs, moose, sheep, chickens and even honeybees in order to protect the consumer as well as the farmers, beekeepers and others who rely on the animals for their livelihood.

The department, also through the state veterinarian’s office, has participated in a variety of training exercises to be prepared in the event of an agriterrorism threat. That preparation has been enhanced by the development of a Kentucky State Agriculture Response Team Model, as well as the acquisition of a mobile operations center. That allows the department to respond quickly to any homeland security emergency related to agriculture.

– Cathy Lockman

Jason Glass takes a reading on a site gauge of a 5-gallon test measure.

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nothing about this school is normal.On the walkways leading to the building, permeable

pavers are installed to soak up rainwater instead of letting it run off. A computer opens and closes greenhouse windows depending on the temperature. Solar arrays on the roof warm the building’s water and provide electricity.

Yet a short distance up the hill, horses are whinnying, a rooster is crowing just outside a classroom, and students are dumping mounds of scrap paper into a heap to make compost.

Welcome to Kentucky agricultural education in 2012.This high-tech, zero-energy campus is the Locust

Trace AgriScience Farm, a new venture in Lexington-Fayette County public schools that teaches science and other skills through a mixture of classroom work and hands-on agricultural activities.

It’s the newest, most cutting-edge addition to agriculture education in Kentucky. But if anything, it represents where all of Kentucky’s agriculture-based educational efforts have been moving.

Kentucky agricultural education still prepares kids to work on a farm, but it’s doing it through programs that also prepare them for college.

And why not? Farming crops or livestock is, at its heart, a hands-on science.

FFA (formerly known as Future Farmers of America), a high school-based program that teaches leadership through agricultural education, has seen a surge in interest in recent years. That will only continue, says Brandon Davis, program consultant for agricultural education in Kentucky and adviser to FFA.

“Most people, when they think of FFA, they think of a very farming-based concept,” Davis says. “Only 30

Hands-on high school teaches students about agriculture

AGRICULTURE EDUCATION


Cultivating Their Future

locust trace AgriScience Farm in lexington is the newest career and technical high school in Fayette County Public Schools. the high school is a high-tech, zero-energy campus that teaches science and farm skills through a mixture of classroom work and hands-on agriculture activities.


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Kentucky’s Conservation Partnership

Keeping Kentucky’s air and water clean,

protecting Kentucky’s soil,

and keeping Kentucky’s

agriculture productive …

from the Bluegrass and beyond.

Kentucky Association of Conservation Districts


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percent come from farming backgrounds. School districts tell us that what they like is the leadership development that it offers.”

Mobile agricultureElizabeth McNulty, Kentucky’s coordinator of

education programs, oversees the state’s Mobile Science Activity Centers, a sort of traveling agriscience lab. The mobile lab targets elementary school children, typically those in fourth grade, but has serviced kintergarten through high school classes as well as conducted teacher professional development.

She says the Commonwealth saw the opportunity with the lab, which was born in the late 1990s, to accomplish two goals: promote agriculture as a career and also offer teachers the hands-on activities required in science learning.

In the mobile lab, activities include making lip balm from soy beans and biodegradable plastic from corn. Students also germinate seeds and identify plants. The activities are geared toward reinforcing what students are learning in the classroom and are likely to face during statewide testing.

McNulty says interest in the lab, which schools can rent for $100 a day, is rising in rural and urban areas because of the public’s growing interest in health and food.

“Increasing agriculture literacy education efforts have resulted great feedback from teachers, parents and children.”

beyond the FarMCharlene Jacobs, director of the state’s 4H program,

has seen a shift in the last decade when it comes to agriculture education, which is still a core part of 4-H’s life skills and science curriculum. Now, educators spend a lot more time focusing on where food comes from, and on the science behind the industry.

“Science and engineering is all part of agriculture,” Jacobs says. “So as we train them, maybe they’ll be interested in agricultural engineering. Or maybe they’ll be interested in science or engineering. It’s a success either way.”

On a recent tour of Locust Trace, there’s no mistaking that educators are marrying science with agriculture. The high-tech wizardry at the school makes it feel more like a college classroom than a high school.

The school has a veterinary clinic with video links to the rest of the school building so classes can tune in to witness interesting or educational procedures. Huge tanks in the greenhouse support koi and tilapia, whose waste feeds nearby plants. Chicken pens out on the campus are moved daily to give the birds new territory to graze on.

“What makes this place unique is just how many things our students are exposed to,” says Brian Miller, Locust Trace’s administrative dean, “everything from veterinary science to solar energy. There are lots of different things going on.”

On a recent tour, some students were working in the greenhouse and others were running tests in the horse

Eduardo Banda builds a chicken coop in his ag mechanics class at locust trace AgriScience Farm.

barn. In one of the barns, a student was asked what he would be doing that week at school.

“Tomorrow, we’re going to artificially inseminate a cow,” he says, beaming, with no hint of acknowledgement that his high school experience might be a good bit different from others’.

Excitement about the school has caught the attention and support of local farmers, Miller says. Many are donating time and even some materials.

“We’ve got a tremendous agriculture community that cares deeply about what goes on at Locust Trace.”

Todd Clark, a Fayette County farmer who has volunteered for the school, thinks that approach is refreshing.

“To me, the amazing thing about the school is the way it’s addressing agriculture as agriculture is today,” says Clark. “They’re meeting the needs of the community we live in now.

– Chris Poore


F or an Anderson County farm family, dropping by a Cooperative Extension

Service office in person recently was better than doing research on the Internet.

Their daughter was putting on her pants one morning and a spider bit her. They captured the spider, put it in a jar and headed for the extension office. When they got there, the agent didn’t recognize the spider. But he linked through teleconference to an entomologist at the University of Kentucky.

Within 15 minutes of arriving at the extension office, they had their answer: the bite was from a brown sac spider, often confused with the more menacing brown recluse, but not nearly as dangerous.

For Gary Palmer, assistant director for agriculture and natural resources at the University of Kentucky, the incident reinforced just how wide-ranging an extension agent’s job can be – and how important.

“Whatever the question might be – sometimes they get pretty complicated – we try to answer it,” Palmer says.

Kentucky’s agricultural extension program is a sort of megaphone for agriculture programs at the University of Kentucky and Kentucky State University. The two land-grant institutions continue to make educating the public about agriculture and natural resources a central part of their mission.

Ag extension offers a myriad of programs addressing everything from soil quality and life skills to diet and nutrition. Both universitys’ programs offer many of the same core services. At UK, those

services tend to focus on traditional agriculture. KSU tends to focus on small farmers and alternative agriculture, such as aquaculture and small animal sciences.

The extension’s most direct connection to farmers is through efforts to help them stay competitive. Thirty-six percent of the contacts extension agents, faculty and staff make with the public involves “competitive agriculture” or soil and water conservation.

In all, agriculture extension programs made more than 75,000 contacts with farmers, gardeners and families in Kentucky in 2010.

More than 18,000 farmers adopted at least one new practice taught in extension programs that year, according

to the extension service’s annual report. Farmers who adopted those practices documented more than $33 million in additional income – an increase of $12 million over the previous year.

But the bulk of what extension agents do is answer questions, from, “What kind of bug is this?” to “How long until I can safely use my compost?”

The difference between Googling those questions on the computer and calling an extension agent is the quality of the result. Palmer said agents and others involved in extension pride themselves on offering advice based on replicable practices. In other words, there’s scientific research, not just myth and popular culture, behind the answers.

—Chris Poore

Ag extension programs educate KentuckiansExtending a Hand

AGRICULTURE EDUCATION

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Visit www.horseswork.com to find out how

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A Producer-Owned Cooperative Since 1968

Supporting Kentucky’s horticultural crop producers with assistance

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i n g r e d i e n t S1 pound flat iron steak, sliced very thin1 onion, sliced1 green pepper, sliced2 cups mozzarella or pizza cheese1 pre-baked pizza crust

i n S t r u c t i o n S1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.2. Saute onions and green pepper with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a heavy skillet. When onions are soft and begin to caramelize, spoon them into a bowl.

3. Add the steak to the skillet and saute until just done, using tongs to even out the cooking.4. Place 1 cup cheese on pizza crust. layer onion, green pepper and steak on top.5. Sprinkle remaining cheese over all. Season according to taste with garlic, red pepper flakes, italian seasoning, salt and pepper.6. Bake for about 15 minute, or until golden and bubbly. Serve immediately.tip: uncooked steak slices easily if placed in the freezer for about 15 minutes.

Cheesesteak Pizza

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Beef up pizza night with the peppery, cheesy combination of Philly cheesesteak

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AD INDEX

46 AgriBusiness AssociAtion of KentucKy

63 Burley toBAcco growers cooperAtive AssociAtion

57 commonweAlth Agri-energy llc

64 fArm credit services of mid-AmericA

56 governor’s office of AgriculturAl policy

6 h&r Agri-power

63 hopKinsville elevAtor compAny inc.

56 independence BAnK

60 KentucKy AssociAtion of conservAtion districts

34 KentucKy cAttlemen’s AssociAtion

60 KentucKy cleAn fuels coAlition

C2 KentucKy coAl AssociAtion

42 KentucKy dAiry development council

63 KentucKy equine educAtion project

C4 KentucKy fArm BureAu

60 KentucKy horse council

63 KentucKy horticulture council inc.

47 KentucKy porK producers

46 KentucKy poultry federAtion

23 KentucKy sheep & goAt checK-off

26 KentucKy stAte fAir BoArd

AD INDEX

1 KentucKy stAte university

38 KentucKy thoroughBred owners & Breeders inc.

55 KentucKy veterinAry medicAl AssociAtion

50 KentucKy women in Agriculture inc.

4 moreheAd stAte university

2 murrAy stAte university hutson school of Agriculture

C3 university of KentucKy college of Agriculture

50 university of louisville conn center

18 wKu depArtment of Agriculture

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http://www.ca.uky.edu

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Documents

Kentucky Sag 2013