Agriculture & Natural Resources
Agriculture & Natural Resources
Our program provides education, training and technical assistance to individuals and businesses concerned with profitable agriculture.
What Is Agriculture and Natural Resources?
Agriculture and Natural Resources (ANR) is a program area of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service. Extension ANR programs are part of the outreach program of the University Of Kentucky College Of Agriculture. We provide informal education in agricultural production and environmental stewardship.
Departmental specialists, researchers, and county agents develop and implement ANR programs. In addition to production agriculture, a small staff of Extension Associates provides focused assistance to state and county staff on interdisciplinary and critical-need programs. These programs may deal with the interface between production agriculture and environmental stewardship. Associates also address the relationship between farmers and non-farm rural and urban citizens. Our programs make a difference in the lives of millions of Kentuckians through research-based education.
Working with our other land grant partner, Kentucky State University, we extend the resources of the University to the people in their local communities. County agents serve as the link between people in every Kentucky county and experts in the universities. They coordinate and provide educational programs for the public through meetings and workshops, field days, personal communications, and web or satellite broadcasts. Agents also provide publications, newsletters, computer programs, videos, and other educational materials.
Funding Sources
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP): EQIP is offered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Common uses for these cost-share grants include fencing to keep livestock out of streams, forest stand improvement projects, erosion control, livestock water tanks, and much more. Grant amounts differ by the practices installed. You can get more information about EQIP by calling our local NRCS office at 606-864-2172.
State cost-share: This cost-share grant is similar to EQIP. The main difference is that EQIP is a federal program whereas this grant is offered by the state of Kentucky. This program is a 75% cost-share program, and is capped at $20,000/year. Applications are submitted through the local Soil and Water Conservation District. You can learn more about this grant by visiting https://bit.ly/state-cost-share or by calling the Clay County Conservation District at 606-598-5132.
KY State University Small Farm Grant: The Small Farm Grant is focused on growers producing food and food-related products (rather than ag commodities). It is particularly targeted to farmers using organic growing practices or producing value-added products. This grant is capped at $5,000. More information is available at https://bit.ly/ksu-small-farm-grant.
Catalyzing Agroforestry Grant Program: This is a new grant opportunity to establish silvopasture (integrating trees in pastures with managed grazing) and forest farming (production of items such as ginseng, yellowroot, or edible mushrooms grown under the forest canopy). Grant funds will pay for rootstock, fertilizer, site prep, and similar items. Silvopasture grants don’t have a cap and forest farming grants are capped at $6,000. More information is at https://www.appalachianforestfarmers.org/emef.
SOAR Farm Loan: SOAR and KY Highlands Investment Corporation partnered to offer a low-interest (1% interest rate) loan for eastern Kentucky farms. These loans are focused on businesses that sell food to local customers. Loans are capped at $7,500 and typically have a 5 year payback period. You can get more information at: http://www.soarfarmloans.org/
County Agriculture Investment Program (CAIP): CAIP funding comes from the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, and is administered by the KY Office of Ag Policy. Clay County is usually allocated enough funds to be able to run a CAIP program every couple years. CAIP is a cost-share program, and it is currently capped at $10,000 each time the program runs. Keep an eye on the Extension newsletter and Extension Facebook page to get informed when CAIP will begin taking applications again or go to https://clay.ca.uky.edu/2023-CAIP
Stay Up-To-Date on Ag Information!
Did you know that several different departments in the UK College of Ag put out weekly or monthly newsletters? This is often one of the best ways to stay up-to-date on Kentucky-specific ag information. Some of these newsletters are found online in a blog format, but you can also directly subscribe to many of these resources to have new editions delivered to your email. Click the link below to visit the newsletter site.
Additional Information
Ashley Adkins
Extension Agent, Agriculture and Natural Resources
(606) 598-2789 ashley.adkins@uky.edu Clay County Extension Office 69 Jameson Road, Manchester, Kentucky 40962-0421
