Kentucky Proud has become more than just a logo to Kentucky's producers. It is the brand that consumers across the commonwealth are now asking for in grocery stores and restaurants.
Yet, building the foundation and infrastructure for this strong brand did not happen overnight. It has been a deliberate effort, from the farmer to the consumer, the state to the private entity, that has created the Kentucky Proud advantage.
Kentucky collaboration
As with any statewide effort, it takes more than just money to take an idea and make it a reality: it takes people.
What has been truly unique about the efforts to diversify Kentucky agriculture and create the Kentucky Proud brand has been the support and collaboration from across Kentucky's agriculture community.
A prime example of this collaboration is seen in the quick development of MarketMakerKentucky, an online searchable food database.
MarketMakerKentucky was discovered in the summer of 2006 by Kentucky Department of Agriculture and University of Kentucky staff, purchased by Allied Food Marketing utilizing agriculture development funds, and is now a Web site actively managed and supported jointly by KDA and UK.
"This project went from an idea to a working Web site in six months, because we all came together to make it happen," explained Mike Judge, marketing director for KDA. "There are other states that started the process long before we did, and they are amazed at how quickly we were able to get this online for our farmers.
This level of collaboration goes beyond just a single project and permeates all aspects of Kentucky agriculture.
The importance of supporting locally grown foods and the merits of the Kentucky Proud program are the cornerstone of conferences