BEAU NEAL, the Woodford County Extension agent for agriculture and natural resources, spoke at the Farmer’s Resource Breakfast last Friday morning at the Woodford County Agriculture Resource Building. The event was co-hosted by the Woodford County Conservation District. (Photo by Scott White)
By Scott White
Woodford Sun Staff
Report for America corps member
One of the best things about being a farmer in Woodford County is the expertise and programs afforded by agriculture agencies like the University of Kentucky-Woodford County Agriculture and Natural Resources Extension Service (Extension Service) and the Woodford County Conservation District (District), which jointly held a Farmer’s Resource Breakfast last Friday at the Woodford County Agriculture Resource Building.
The breakfast provided experienced and new farmers with useful tools to successfully and profitably operate their businesses.
Extension Agent for Agriculture and Natural Resources Beau Neal, a regular Woodford Sun columnist, focused on grant money available under Kentucky’s County Agricultural Incentive Program (CAIP), which was created following the historic 1998 settlement with the major cigarette manufacturers. Kentucky split the monies it received from the national settlement into, basically, as Neal explained, two pots: one for health due to the impact of cigarette smoking and the other for tobacco farmers to diversify their row crops and other ag products to help replace the lost revenue from the expected decline in burley production.
Neal said this loss of revenue strongly impacted Woodford County, given it was one of the largest burley-producing counties in both Kentucky and in the nation. Further, he said these funds will continue to dwindle over the life of the settlement payout.
According to Neal, in 2025, Kentucky ag-related industries and farmers were allotted about $38 million, with $13.3 million set aside for all county grants. Woodford County received $232,671 from the $13.3 million in grant money to distribute in fiscal year 2026, with that percentage based on a county’s tobacco production rates in the late 1990s.
“As of this year, approximately $7.5 million has been distributed by the Woodford County Ag Development Council. A large percentage of that money has gone directly to the farms, shared-use equipment and other farm-related programs or projects,” said Neal. “The rest has been distributed to regional projects that have direct farm impact on the producers of Woodford County.”
The types of allowable projects that can be funded include: innovative ag systems, diversification and farm infrastructure. The full list, as well as the details of the other requirements, can be obtained by contacting Neal at (859) 873-4601 or email to beau.neal@uky.edu.
Farmers who wish to receive grants from this fund can apply beginning on Nov. 23. Neal explained the applications are scored, and decisions are made by the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board, and based on past years, 60-75 percent of applicants are funded.
Before turning it over to the next speaker, Neal stressed the importance of the Extension Service’s soil sampling program. “The biggest reason we soil sample is we want everything firing on all cylinders when it comes to the pastures, the crops,” he said. “If your PH is not right, your nutrient levels just aren’t there. So I think it’s kind of the first and foremost thing you should do as a producer, whether new or experienced.”
Nat Colten, the district operations manager of the District and also a regular Sun columnist, provided information on a variety of services and programs the agency offers to farmers.
Colton told the attendees that a lot of people don’t even know we exist.
“We have been here, the Woodford County Conservation District, specifically, been here since 1946,” he said. “And, conceptually, we’re an organization with locally elected officials, and we develop local solutions to natural resource concerns within the county. And the way we do that is (by) talking to people, understanding what the problems are and working with other agencies like the Natural Resource Conservation Service. They were all the first to adopt the integration districts in the early 40s.”
A big piece of the District’s job is hands-on work with farmers and helping them access a variety of resources.
“We provide technical assistance, whether that’s you come(ing) into the office and looking at maps with us, or understanding what soil resources you have. And working together with the Extension Service, we can help you understand what kind of land management is suitable for, or (what) production system might be suitable for the properties . . . and one of the beautiful things about conservation districts is that we have these locally led solutions.”
Specific programs Colton discussed were: soil testing, including grid and zone sampling for farmers who do more gradient-specific fertilizing, its rock gate program, dead livestock animal removal, winter cover crops and farm equipment rental.
Other speakers at the breakfast were Chelsea Durbin, an environmental scientist with the Kentucky Division of Conservation, and Jared Davenport, a natural resources specialist and a joint employee of the Conservation District and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
A common point made by all the speakers, and one that most who are involved in agriculture in Woodford County know, is the Agriculture Resource Building on Beasley Road, which provides farmers of any size or type of operation, including home gardeners, with a one-stop location where all of the county agencies are located, including the District, the Extension Service, the Farm Service Agency and the Department of Fish & Wildlife.
And, as Neal and Colton emphasized, they and their colleagues are always ready to help solve nearly any problem, issue or need a farmer may have.