Lexington, KY - To say 2009 was a year of historic proportions when it came to Kentucky's agriculture industry would be fairly accurate, but that didn't always translate into something positive.
While 2008 proved to be a record year in regard to farm cash receipts, the 2009 year saw a steep decline due to the bad economy. By year's end, projections indicated a $550 million drop in those receipts, according to University of Kentucky College of Agriculture experts.
The panel delivered the sobering news at the recent Kentucky Farm Bureau annual meeting during its 2009 review and 2010 outlook session. A total of $4.84 billion was recorded for 2008, topping 2007's $4.52 billion mark by seven percent. But the projected total for 2009 looks to be about $4.29 billion.
The news of the decline wasn't as bad as it could have been, or at least it wasn't unexpected. Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer praised farmers for once again busting the $4 billion mark and said Kentucky's agriculture industry had met the economic challenges it faced this year. The 2009 projected receipts are in line with the five-year average of $4.28 billion.
Aside from the bad economy, it was perhaps the weather that gave growers their biggest challenges.
A wet spring created late plantings and muddy fields, but thanks to timely rains through the summer, record corn and soybean yields were expected at harvest time. But it wasn't easy getting those crops out. Near record rainfall in October kept many farmers at bay, waiting for the ground to dry enough to get their equipment in the fields.
Mother Nature however, granted a reprieve in early November and the state recorded its largest corn crop ever, according to Leland Brown, director of the USDA National Agriculture Statistics Service Kentucky Field Office.
"The reports on yields so far have been very good," he said. "The November crop report had corn at 160 bushels per acre. There's a record high production forecast for soybeans for Kentucky. Yield was a record 46 bushels per acre."
I'm with the government and here to help
The government did have a major role in shaping the year. On a state level, the news was mostly good.
The Beshear administration focused much of its ag attention toward renewable energy projects and promoting the local food initiative through the Kentucky Proud Marketing program.
The Governor announced that $2 million worth of stimulus funds were coming to the state via the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to provide revenue "for on-farm energy conservation, renewable energy production and regional renewable fuel projects."
He also announced entering into a memorandum of agreement with the University of Louisville, which would operate the Kentucky's Center for Renewable Energy Research and Environmental Stewardship.
"The center achieves several objectives laid out in my administration's strategic energy plan for Kentucky, including creating higher quality jobs, identifying methods that allow citizens to be more energy efficient and helping our nation become energy secure," Beshear said.
Other renewable energy projects stayed on course throughout the year, including the Eastern Kentucky University Center for Renewable and Alternative Fuel Technologies (CRAFT), where researchers will examine the potential for a cellulose-derived biodiesel industry here and a University of Kentucky project with Eastern Kentucky Power Cooperative that examines the use of switchgrass as a coal additive to power-generating plants.
In anticipation of the federal government passing legislation allowing for it, State Senator Joey Pendleton pre-filed a bill for the 2010 General Assembly that would allow farmers to once again raise industrial hemp. Among other advantages, the crop would provide a valuable biomass for the development of renewable fuels, Pendleton said.
Local food was high on the list of state-supported projects, with First Lady Jane Beshear hosting farmers markets at the Capitol, including one on Derby Day. She was also instrumental in establishing the Governor's Garden, in which local FFA students helped with the planting, tending and harvesting of a garden that would supply food to a local food bank and bring awareness to the value of local foods and their contribution to bettering the environment.
The Beshears hosted a Kentucky Proud Dinner at the Governor's Mansion, where leaders in agriculture, business, education and the medical community came together to feast on a banquet prepared entirely from Kentucky Proud products in hopes of taking the marketing program to a new level of expansion.
Local commodities took center stage at the first Kentucky Proud Incredible Food Show held in October. The event showcased local food and producers and brought famed chef Bobby Flay to the Bluegrass to cook up a meal using only Kentucky goods.
The federal government's role in state agriculture wasn't quite as popular in 2009. While the Obama administration did pump money into energy projects, some of which made its way to Kentucky, new regulations concerning agriculture prompted protests by farmers and state ag agencies as well.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was on the receiving end of criticism over a proposed "cow tax," something the organization said was not true. The mix up came as the organization proposed a fee on greenhouse gas emissions that would fall under provisions of the Clean Air Act. Farm leaders, including those at the USDA, said such a permit would pertain to livestock. All the fuss ended up being for nothing as the action was blocked by House and Senate last October.
The tobacco industry wasn't as lucky, as the Food and Drug Administration became its regulatory agency through landmark legislation passed in June. By August, the FDA launched its new Center for Tobacco Products, which is in charge of implementing the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
On September 22, a ban on cigarettes with flavors characterizing fruit, candy or clove was announced. The move was designed to reduce the number of children who start to smoke, something at the core of the regulatory legislation.
"Almost 90 percent of adult smokers start smoking as teenagers. These flavored cigarettes are a gateway for many children and young adults to become regular smokers," said FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, M.D. "The FDA will utilize regulatory authority to reduce the burden of illness and death caused by tobacco products to enhance our nation's public health."
Other highlights - or lowlights
Kentucky's dairy farmers along with their counterparts across the country were dropping out at an alarming rate due to increased input costs and the declining price for milk.
In an effort to stop the bleeding, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced an increase in the amount paid for dairy products through the Dairy Product Price Support Program (DPPSP) last July. The increases were to stay in place from August through October 2009 to assist in increasing dairy farmers' revenues by $243 million. The move seemed to help as milk prices climbed and were expected to be the highest of the year in December.
The H1N1 flu epidemic, commonly referred to as swine flu, continues to plague the country and has affected hog producers as well. The industry has tried to counter the claims that if people eat pork, they could get the flu - a notion that is not true. Regardless, between the economy and the fear factor, hog prices have dropped and many farmers are having a tough time making profits on pigs.
While the H1N1 strain was getting most of the attention, Avian Influenza (bird flu) made its way into the state as well. This strain, H7N9, not the highly pathogenic H5N1 Asian strain, was affecting chickens and not humans. The discovery came on a western Kentucky farm to a flock used only for egg production. The outbreak was short lived and handled immediately by state agriculture officials and Perdue Farms, Inc.
A segment of the state's woodlands came under attack by a small exotic beetle, metallic-green in color and about half an inch in size and known as the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB.) Its victims are ash trees, of which millions have died in several states due to the infestation. State Entomologist John Obrycki issued a quarantine on June 22 with the advice and consent of Commissioner Farmer and M. Scott Smith, dean of the UK College of Agriculture, as required by state law, according to KDA information.
"The quarantine prevents the transportation of all hardwood species of firewood, ash trees, lumber, nursery stock or other material where the emerald ash borer is suspected into a non-quarantined area without a certificate or limited permit," said Obrycki.
The ash tree is often used in many urban areas and is just one of the contributors to a multimillion-dollar wood industry in the state.