HOPKINS COUNTY AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

Transcription

1 HOPKINS COUNTY AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN December 28, 2000 Submitted by: Allen LeGrand, (Chairman) Danny Peyton, (Vice-Chairman Allison Farmer, (Secretary) David Brumfield Roger Osburn Kenny Roberts Ricky Roberts Wesley Slaton George I. Kelley (Administrative Support)

2 Hopkins County Agriculture Development Council Comprehensive Plan OVERVIEW OF COUNTY Hopkins County is located in the Western Kentucky Coal Field Region and has historically been heavily dependent on goods-producing manufacturing, mining industries and agriculture. The county ranks ninth in the state in land area with 353,280 acres. About 141,000 of these acres are devoted to production agriculture, including 68,000 acres of corn and soybeans and 55,000 acres of hay and pastureland. Poultry receipts from contract production account for 66% of the farm income, while soybeans, corn, feeder calves, hogs and tobacco generate the remainder. The county ranked 17 th in the state in total farm cash receipts in 1999 and 10 th in livestock sales. The number of full-time farmers has declined to 208 persons who currently list farming as their principal occupation. However, the county has 300+ part-time farmers and an increasing number of young professional and retired people buying farmland and exploring agriculture enterprises. An increasing amount of the county s row crop land is being cash rented and managed by large acreage farmers from a few adjoining counties. With a decline in mining, local economic leaders have worked diligently to attract more manufacturing jobs. They have been successful recently in securing new industries such as Rexam and Autoliv. Meanwhile, the agriculture sector has been strengthened by the location of Tyson Foods in the region with contract production occurring on 22 county farms. This new farm enterprise doubled county farm receipts from $26 to $53 million from 1998 to Farmers have access to a local grain elevator and several nearby river and rail terminals. The most common enterprise on our farms is beef cattle. Nearly 52% of our county s 538 farms raise cattle. About 75 producers grow the county s 235 acres of burley and dark aircured tobacco. Beef and tobacco producers sell on the Hopkinsville and Owensboro markets, while most of the hogs are shipped directly to packing plants. An increasing amount of agriculture revenue is being generated from the horticulture sector, which includes greenhouse plants, sod production, staked tomatoes and sales at the local Farmers Market. The timber industry also accounts for approximately $8 million dollars annually and employs 75 people.

3 Page 2 REVIEW OF THE PROCESS The Hopkins County Agriculture Development Council (HCADC) sought input from the general public, members of the county Economic Development Board, the Madisonville-Hopkins County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the County Extension Council, and tobacco farmers. In total 1,036 people received questionnaires soliciting input on how the county s portion of the funds should be used to grow the farm economy. The council conducted two meetings--one specifically for tobacco producers on November 2 nd and a public forum on November 14 th. The tobacco meeting was sponsored by the Hopkins County Farm Bureau and was attended by 22 farmers. The tobacco grower meeting generated ideas on how to enhance certain phases of tobacco production and ways to facilitate transition into new enterprises. The second meeting was conducted on November 14 th for invited guests and the general public. In preparation for this session, 90 personal letters were mailed to elected government officials, school administrators, and to agriculture commodity leaders. Fifteen people attended. In addition to the two meetings, other efforts were implemented to seek ideas. The Madisonville Messenger ran a feature story explaining the Phase I funding program and the need for public comment. The forums were promoted on local radio stations and in the County Agent s weekly newspaper column. The questionnaire was also mailed by the Chamber of Commerce to its 850 members via their October newsletter. ASSESSMENTS Strengths The greatest asset the county has is its people. Hopkins County has 46,126 residents, ranking it 16 th in state population. Rural residents comprise 52 % of the population. There are 17,760 households. The work ethic of the people and the growing number of young and active leaders in the business and agriculture community are definite strengths. Hopkins County offers state of the art health care facilities and services to a large area of primarily rural residents. The county continues to grow as a retail center for those who live in a 40 mile radius of Madisonville. The large health care industry (2,000+ employees), a large school corporation, as well as existing and new manufacturing jobs will continue to draw workers from a seven-county area, an area which offers a potential of 180,000 workers and consumers of goods and services. Two four-lane highway systems transverse the county linking the community to much larger metropolitan areas within a day s drive. A good railroad system also exists.

4 Page 3 The county has two public school districts with excellent facilities and three church affiliated systems. The Hopkins County District includes 8 elementary schools, three middle schools and two modern high schools with approximately 7,500 students. Madisonville Community College and Madisonville Technical College offer post-secondary training and have recently started an Agricultural Technology program to train skilled agribusiness employees. Two high schools offer agriculture programs to their students too. The Hopkins County Cooperative Extension Service continues to serve the needs of landowners in the areas of farm management, production agriculture, horticulture, and community development. Farm and non-farm residents also have local access to the programs and services of the Natural Resource Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency, Kentucky Division of Forestry, Veterinary clinics, a grain elevator, four farm supply dealerships, three equipment dealers, numerous garden centers, agriculture lenders, and Farmers Market. Weaknesses The location of Tyson Foods and Perdue Farms in the area has had a positive effect on grain prices for local corn and soybean farmers. However, additional value-added industries, e.g., ethanol production, snack food processing, is needed to add greater stability to the local grain economy. On a different level is the need to better inform local consumers and future generations about our modern food production system. More teachers need to be trained in this area and provided with high quality curriculum materials. Opportunities Less than one percent of the county s feeder calves are being marketed through preconditioning sales. The Green River and Hopkinsville CPH Sales have demonstrated the profitability of grouped efforts, but many producers are still reluctant to change marketing habits. A one-time program for new participants that includes cost share for health work and bulk storage/self feeder equipment may be adequate incentive to get some producers interested in stretching their marketing power. The startup of the Purchase Area Catfish Cooperative and the availability of contracts for freshwater shrimp production have landowners investigating these new enterprises. Aquaculture along with the following kinds of projects have been suggested for potential funding: business promotion/advertising, locating a permanent home for the Farmers Market, a community incubator kitchen, formation of purchasing and marketing alliances, tobacco and vegetable irrigation equipment, support of the new Ag. Tech Program,

5 Page 4 scholarships for Ag in the Classroom, and the addition of agricultural information to a countywide global information system. Threats The continued urbanization of Hopkins County will challenge our community at several levels. The current economy has provided increased disposable income for many non-farm citizens of the county. There is an increase in the amount of farmland being purchased by non-farming interests. Urban expansion has also created conflicts between livestock farmers and their city cousins in terms of waste management and opportunities for expansion. More restrictive environmental standards threaten the ability of crop and livestock producers in using normal production practices. If not abated, these restrictions will limit the ability of farmers to choose least cost-effective production practices such as the use of manures, tillage practices, and chemical control of pests. Mission Statement The Hopkins County Agriculture Development Council will work on behalf of the citizens of the county, and specifically family farmers, to promote and encourage projects that will expand and grow the agriculture base of our community. Priority Areas Our short term priority involves providing cost share funding and/or grants to both individuals and groups engaged in new or existing agriculture enterprises that will yield immediate results. We will give priority to proposals that show evidence of creating new opportunities for agriculture. In the long term the council hopes to create a better understanding for its youth and adults of modern agriculture production practices and encourage young people to explore agriculture as a vocation. The council will support local, area and regional projects that add value to our raw commodities. We intend to allocate funds in these four categories: 1) Support of new agriculture enterprises 2) Support of existing agriculture enterprises 3) Agriculture educational activities 4) Value Added Processing

6 Page 5 Methods to Receive Funding The HCADC will support cost share funding and/or direct grants for projects. The council will expect proposals to show evidence of in-kind, matching funds, or other support equal to 50 percent of the total cost of the project. Consideration will be given to what percentage of the county s allocation the applicant is requesting. Any person, group, business, or organization applying for funding is expected to provide detailed information about the project including type of project, amount requested, total cost, an operational budget, the desired outcome, and how the project will benefit the county. Project Merit and Evaluation The HCADC will review each proposal with equal merit and determine if the project conforms to the established priorities. We will accept formal proposals from January 1 to March 1. Successful applicants are expected to file quarterly progress reports on the status of their projects. Each report should include a financial statement and an activity s status to aid the HCADC in evaluating the progress of the project.