The Kentucky Department of Agriculture has announced new rounds of funding going to communities in the Commonwealth. Morgan County is among the recipients of support from the County Agricultural Incentives Program, or CAIP. Officials said a total of over $150,000 will go toward diversifying and upgrading existing local farming operations.
Lacy May is the Cooperative Extension Service County Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources. She said Morgan County distributes this money differently than other areas.
“Some counties see ten producers get tens of thousands of dollars. Here in Morgan County, we like to ensure that a larger amount of producers, a larger number of people, are able to get a piece of this pie. So, it’s not necessarily a huge amount that the farmers are receiving directly, but it is enough to help them make improvements on their farms,” said May.
Officials said the amount of money counties receive from CAIP is related to the county’s dependence on tobacco crops in the past. May said there is a lot of potential for new avenues of agriculture thanks to this round of funding.
“I think this funding definitely has the potential to further develop maybe the way people think about their farming operations, encourage them to make investments in areas that maybe they wouldn’t have otherwise. When you get funding or resources you didn’t expect, you’re more likely to do something you maybe hadn’t put in the plans,” said May.
More information on CAIP can be found on the Morgan County Extension Office website, through the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment at UK.