Ky. to use tobacco-settlement funds to help farmers be more efficient in use of energy

The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board has announced a new investment area, aimed at helping farmers go green. The On-Farm Energy Efficiency & Production program will support energy-efficient farming, with the goal that lower energy use will result in greater profits for farmers.

“Over the last several years, energy, reducing usage, and developing alternative sources have become critical issues for Kentucky agriculture,” Roger Thomas, director of the Governor's Office of Agricultural Policy, which staffs the board, said in a release. “The on-farm energy investment area will provide Kentucky’s farmers with the opportunity to make changes to their operations that will improve their profit and reduce agriculture’s impact on energy consumption.” (Read more)

The board makes grants and loans to improve the agricultural economy, with money from the state's share of the national tobacco settlement. The state legislature allocated 50 percent of the state's settlement money to improvement of the agricultural economy.