By DEBORAH BEHRENDS

Indiana Correspondent

FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board (KADB) allocated $1 million to establish the On-Farm Water Management Program at its March 2018 board meeting. The program will promote water resilience on farms by funding projects in conjunction with the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet (EEC).

“The Energy and Environment Cabinet, through the Water Resources Board, is helping the agriculture community to improve the availability and use of water for irrigation and livestock. These efforts are intended to reduce both the producers’ costs as well as reduce susceptibility to droughts,” said Charles Snavely, secretary of the EEC.

The On-Farm Water Management Program consists of two categories. Research, Development and Demonstration (RDD) is for water management practices on public regional farms. The Practical Implementation Project (PIP) is for private farms that wish to implement best management practices for water management.

Both programs are required to have public, educational tours to highlight practices for harvesting, storing and redistributing water.

The On-Farm Water Management Program aims to promote innovation in on-farm water management, increase on-farm water availability and farm profitability, institutionalize practices into traditional funding programs and normalize innovative practices.

The initiative will look to coordinate efforts with individuals and entities interested in the long-term science and planning of water resources.

“We are recruiting farm folks who would like to be research, development, demonstration farms, trying out innovative ideas aimed at water quality best management practices,” said Dale Booth, of the Kentucky Water Resources Technical Advisory Group.

“We’re interested in finding people to try out new practices, new ideas they want to develop, who are interested in doing the tracking, reporting on how their practices are working, how much they cost and then to show off those practices. Then, for the practical implementation projects, we are looking for smaller farmers who have learned about new practices who would be interested in trying them out on a smaller scale.”

According to Bill McCloskey, deputy director of the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy (GOAP), program funding comes from Kentucky’s Master Settlement Agreement with tobacco companies.

“In 1999, 25 percent of our ag economy was tobacco,” he explained. “We’re using some of the funds from the Master Settlement Agreement to help farmers in tobacco-impacted communities to transition to other agricultural industries.”

Of the roughly $100 million Kentucky receives annually from that agreement, 50 percent is allocated for agricultural programs. To date, the state has invested more than $560 million in an array of county, regional and state projects designed to increase net farm income and create sustainable new farm-based business enterprises.

These funding approvals represent a few of the more than 5,800 projects approved since the inception of the program in January 2001. McCloskey said these programs allow producers to see demonstrations of programs, learn how programs might be applied on their farms and then receive grant money to implement practices.

Booth explained the process for application starts with a visit to the KADB online portal at https://agpolicy.ky.gov/funds/Pages/program-portal.aspx to find the guidelines and applications for programs.

“The process will involve an initial site visit to look at the operation to see if the proposed program is appropriate. Then the application is reviewed and approved by the ag development board,” she said.

No hard deadline exists; applications will be taken until the program funding is depleted.

“Kentucky Farm Bureau’s proactive approach to view water as economic development for agriculture resulted in the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund’s (KADF) newest project,” said Warren Beeler, GOAP executive director.

“Clean, fresh water is the most valuable resource not only in life, but in agriculture. By showcasing new facilities as well as new methods of management and production, this program will encourage our producers to utilize CAIP (County Agricultural Investment Program) funds to advance to the next step.”

Together, the KADF and the Kentucky Water Resources Board said they are dedicated to helping Kentucky agriculture become more sustainable and profitable for generations to come.