2014 may be a year of uncertainty for Kentucky’s farmers.
The federal Tobacco Transition Payment Program will end in January. For 10 years, the program has given farmers across the nation money to diversify their crops away from tobacco. Earlier this year, a federal court found that Kentucky's management of Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement funds was “non-diligent.” As a penalty a percentage of the payment will be withheld.
Roger Thomas is executive director of the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy. “This could have a very dramatic effect on the Ag Development fund,” said Thomas
He told lawmakers Wednesday the reduction could affect programs such as Kentucky Proud and state-supported farmer's markets.
“I’m hopeful, I’m optimistic that the programs that I have mentioned here today, the good programs that have such a tremendous impact on not just agriculture, but Kentucky as a whole, that these programs will be able to continue in the future as they had in the past,” said Thomas
Thomas said he would have a clearer picture of the effect that reductions in federal funding will have by March next year.
