Tagged: agriculture

Kentucky farmers who donate produce to food banks would get a tax credit under a bill being considered in Frankfort.

The measure is sponsored by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom McKee.  He says the ten percent credit could help get more fruits and vegetables to a growing number of families in need.

Kentucky's agriculture leaders are supporting a new five year strategic plan to help the industry in the state.

The plan, put together by the Kentucky Agriculture Council, puts emphasis on agriculture education, creating new markets and recruiting new people to farming.

The plan runs through 2018 and has the support of Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer.

Gov. Steve Beshear also supports the plan, which he says is a extension of the first agriculture strategic plan presented to him five years ago.

The drought last summer will reduce corn and soybean harvests in Kentucky, but not to the degree once feared. That’s the assessment of state Agriculture Commissioner James Comer.

"Yields are a little better than what we thought they were going to be, which says a lot about technology about the corn seed, because there are a lot of those counties, in Fulton County and Calloway County, that didn’t’ get any rain in May, June or July but they still yieled something. So, that was encouraging," Comer said during a visit to Frenchburg this week.

The lingering drought has led the U.S. Department of Agriculture to declare a natural disaster in 14 more of Indiana's 92 counties.

The USDA added the north-central Indiana counties today.  Along with adjacent counties, they qualify for low-interest relief loans from the federal government.

Fifty counties earlier had been declared natural disaster areas.