GRAYSON COUNTY AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

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1 GRAYSON COUNTY AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OVERVIEW OF THE COUNTY Grayson County has a diversified agricultural industry producing corn, wheat, soybeans, tobacco, hay, livestock, dairy, and poultry. The number of farms has been declining for the past twenty years from 1,661 in 1982 to 1,412 in Farm land in the county has gone from 218,000 acres in 1987 to 209,000 acres in 1999, a decline of about 9,000 acres. Harvested crop land has remained nearly constant during this time period at about 58,000 acres. Acres devoted to grain production have declined in the last five years due to low prices for the product and a sharp decline in pork production. The trend in hay production is positive for the county for the same period, increasing by some 3,500 acres. Cattle are important to the county, contributing nearly twenty million dollars in cash receipts. Dairy production has declined by nearly four million pounds during the period. Low prices and subsequent low profits are to blame. Beef cattle numbers show a steady to slightly higher figure for the time frame. Grayson County ranks eleventh in beef cattle and seventeenth in dairy production for the state. The greatest variance in the county s agricultural output comes in the areas of pork and poultry output. Hog numbers have declined by approximately eighty percent in the past five years. The county ranked fifth in the state in 1994 and is currently not ranked at all. The opposite is true for poultry production in the 1990s for our county. Output of nearly 3 million birds per year contributes hundreds of thousands of dollars to the local economy. Non-traditional agriculture in the county is limited; a one-year experiment in growing freshwater shrimp is the latest activity. Its success has prompted considerable interest in the county as well as neighboring counties. Ratite culture has been tried but proved to be a financial failure. Sheep and goats are raised on a number of farms but not in significant amounts. Equine production is on the rise and has been so throughout the 1990s. Our county produces hundreds of pleasure horses but does not produce animals for racing. Most horse owners have ten head or less with the majority of owners having no more than five animals. Our county s strength lies in its diversity but there is no denying the fact that tobacco is the mainstay of a large number of farms in the county. The county s quota has dropped from 5,354,500 pounds in 1997 to 1,991,000 pounds for the crop year of In 1999, tobacco accounted for nearly sixty percent of the county s income from crops and made up twenty percent of the total cash receipts. The year 2000 will reflect a drop in sales of nearly fifty percent. 1

2 DEMOGRAPHIC DATA The 1999 estimated population of Grayson County is 23,828, an increase of 13.2% since In 1997, Leitchfield, the county seat, had a population of 5,374, Clarkson had 649 and Caneyville 589, which places the bulk of the population, 16,675, in the county. In 1997, Grayson County had a per capita personal income of $15,441. This ranked 75 th in the State, and was 75% of the State average, $20,570 and 6l% of the national average, $25,288. The total civilian labor force in 1997 was 11,478 with 6,060 men and 5,418 women. There are 505 full time farms and 907 part time farms in Grayson County. The agricultural economy brought in approximately $32 million in revenue, even with 12,265 acres participating in the Conservation Reserve Program. REVIEW OF THE PROCESS The Grayson County Agriculture Development Council held a public meeting in conjunction with the preparation of Phase II tobacco forms. Through the Farm Service Agency, Soil Conservation Agency, and the Extension Office, invitations were sent. Two forums were held at the Grayson County Middle School Auditorium. The first forum was held October 12, The committee reviewed our mission and asked for public comment. This open discussion allowed all participants to ask questions and voice opinions. The second forum was held October 24, 2000 and allowed participants to bring project ideas before the committee. These ideas gave us direction to begin our comprehensive plan. In addition to the public forums, several committee members, along with the Agricultural Extension agent, have spoken to special-interest groups regarding these funds. 2

3 ASSESSMENTS Strengths Grayson County s greatest strength lies in its diversification. We have a large forage base, good water supply, and interstate access. This provides ample opportunity for livestock and dairy production. The county has over 150,000 acres of timberland, which gives us the opportunity to increase value-added activities. Our county is scenic with a proximity to numerous tourist attractions. We have a lessening dependence on farm income due to the off farm job opportunities that supplement small scale farming operations. Weaknesses Weaknesses for our farming community are caused in part by the success of non-farming businesses. Leitchfield, the county seat, has attracted a number of small factories, which has provided jobs and income for the county s workforce. This has led to the loss of thousands of acres of farm land for larger and more numerous home sites. Urban encroachment has increased the cost of farm land and hampered agricultural output through restrictions concerning waste disposal, use of herbicides, and the proximity of livestock to non-farm families. We are not blessed with large amounts of Class A farm land with nearly half of the county in woodlands. Lack of adequate markets within the county require agriculture production to be transported outside the county for value-added processing. The county s soil has a low fertility basis with a fragipan that is close to rock and highly erodible. In addition, we have a large number of watersheds, which create water-quality problems. 3

4 OPPORTUNITIES We have the opportunity to increase our tourism. The county has tremendous potential to improve and increase our beef marketing and dairy herds. Small animal and shrimp enterprises could be greatly expanded in the near future. Because of the large woodland base, we also have tremendous potential to increase our income from timber and wood products. Large forage acreage provide opportunities to generate additional marketing of livestock and cash sales of forages. THREATS The agricultural economy is in a very serious transition with low prices. Profitability of current farm operations is slim to none, because of the unavailability of nearby acreage necessary for expansion (which would improve profitability). Most land sales are being broken into minifarms or being used as residential sites and small hobby farms. The capital requirement for expansion to a profitable full-time operation is very discouraging for those who want to remain in full-time farm operations. It is difficult to foresee many seeking expansion to a profitable full-time operation. COUNTY COUNCIL OBJECTIVES Mission / Vision Statement The mission of the Grayson County Agricultural Development Council is to promote and support activities that will generate income to replace declining tobacco profits. It is our goal to increase the value of Grayson County agricultural production by supporting innovative ideas in existing farming activities and development of new enterprises. By encouraging better utilization of our resources in current farm activities and assisting entrepreneurial ventures, we hope to provide profitable examples for the county s farming community. Adaptation of successful practices will be encouraged and expanded while unsuccessful activities will be abandoned. Funds from the State Agricultural Development Board earmarked for Grayson County will be extended through the use of cost share practices and regional or cross-county partnerships that are attractive to the county s farmers. Participants in large scale projects will be encouraged to request funds from the State Agricultural Development Board and look for additional monies from the local, state, and federal 4

5 agencies whenever possible. Participants will also be encouraged to utilize information provided by state research groups as to the feasibility of various projects. Evaluation and Review Requests for funds must be accompanied by information detailing how the money will increase the applicants net profit. Projects must have a realistic chance of success before they will be supported. Tobacco farmers will be given preference over other applicants but not to the point of excluding all other applicants. Applicants may submit more than one request, but only one request will be considered until single applications have been reviewed; then the remaining multiple applications will be considered. Individuals will be expected to contribute a minimum of fifty percent of costs. The maximum an individual may receive is $1,000 for each request. Amounts requested by groups will not be subject to these limitations but will be judged by the council based on their merits. Applications will be accepted on a continuous basis, but will be evaluated at the end of each quarter. At the end of each quarter, all applications will be either approved or disapproved. Disapproved applications must be re-filed in a subsequent quarter to merit reconsideration. Second applications must be resubmitted during each subsequent quarter to receive consideration. All applications receiving funding will have an established completion/reporting date and must submit periodic progress reports. Applications must be submitted in accordance with Kentucky Agricultural Development Board requirements. Retroactive requests will be accepted if the project was started after August 1, The council will return incomplete applications which may be corrected and resubmitted. The county plan will be reviewed at the discretion of the council with a minimum of one review per year. 5