Tagged: agriculture

Western Kentucky’s corn and soybean crops have taken a turn for the worse. Statewide crop-reporting says one-fourth of the corn crop is in poor condition, and another third is fair. 

The decline in the number of dairy farms continues in Kentucky.  A decade ago, State Dairy Marketing Specialist Eunice Schlappi says the Commonwealth had about two thousand dairy farms.  Schlappi says that number is down to about 850 today.

The Kentucky Agricultural Finance Corporation has approved more than $400,000 in loans to farmers to expand their operations.  The agency partners with lenders to help farmers finance projects that would increase their profits.  The Kentucky Department of Agriculture announced the latest round of loans Monday. The largest loan topped $110,000.  The finance corporation also has a beginning farmer loan program that helps people start or expand a farming operation. Those loans can be used to purchase livestock, equipment and land.

National grain specialists are predicting a record amount of corn could go in the ground this spring.  As Kentucky Public Radio’s Stu Johnson reports, a rise in corn yields has been a trend in the commonwealth...

University of Kentucky Extension Professor of Grain Crops, Chad Lee says Kentucky’s corn acreage could go up about ten percent this year.  Lee says the profit potential is partly the result of warmer than usual weather.  He says, in the bluegrass, corn has gone from being the number three crop to number one in the last few years.

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer is the featured speaker at the Purchase Area Cattleman’s Assosciation dinner tonight at Graves County High School. Comer is the founder and owner of James Comer Jr. Farms,a 950-acre beef, timber and hay farm in his native Monroe County. Comer’s speech is scheduled for 7:15 pm at the Graves County High School Cafeteria.