Responding to the Needs of Kentucky Producers

A generation ago, Western Kentuckians led the effort to create the University of Kentucky Research and Education Center (UKREC) in Princeton and the infrastructure that houses people committed to the science of production agriculture. Those stakeholders had faith the land-grant university could help improve agriculture and their lives. 

Since then, Kentucky producers have relied on UK College of Agriculture, Food and Environment experts to help them tackle difficult problems and maximize their profits. Grains and forages are important drivers of Kentucky’s economy. In 2014, corn, soybeans and wheat generated about $2.2 billion in Kentucky, employed over 26,000 people in production and allied industries, and boosted the 2013 labor-income value by $42.5 million. Forages cover more than 6 million acres and are used to feed livestock and horses, industries valued at another $2 billion in receipts each year.

Today, a new generation of agricultural leaders have the same beliefs in the land-grant system but are faced with new challenges of using current resources to feed a growing world population with consideration to the environment, particularly water quality. From those beliefs and needs, the idea of the Grain & Forage Center of Excellence emerged.

Purpose

A primary goal of the Grain & Forage Center of Excellence is to help Kentucky farmers feed the world sustainably, protect the environment, expand the Kentucky economy and pass their farms to the next generation. 

Local Commitment, Global Impact

While UK is committed to Kentucky farmers, results of its faculty and staff’s research and outreach have made important impacts in U.S. and world agriculture. Western Kentucky is the birthplace of modern no-tillage farming. Research conducted at the UKREC and on nearby farms is not only used by North American growers but producers in South America and Europe as well. The UK Wheat Science Group’s work on intensive wheat management is recognized worldwide and has made UK faculty leaders in research on soft red winter wheat production. Thousands of forage producers have benefited from UK educational programs and research on rotational grazing and extending the grazing season. UK scientists are leaders in finding solutions to forage-related diseases.  Findings from one study reduced grass tetany in cattle by 90%. As home to one of the most extensive forage variety testing programs in the nation, farmers across the region rely on UK for unbiased research on new products. 

A Partnership Approach

The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board awarded UK a grant of $15 million toward the $30 million project. Now, UK must match the $15 million grant over the next five years. Thankfully, numerous producers, commodity organizations, related industries and government leaders share in this vision. The Kentucky Corn Growers Association purchased 294 acres of highly productive land adjacent to the UKREC that the university will lease. Other organizations such as the Kentucky Soybean Promotion Board, Kentucky Small Grain Growers Association and Kentucky Farm Bureau will help with the match by providing research grants and contracts to conduct research at the Center. While the university is extremely appreciative of these longstanding partnerships, it will need more to meet future demands and find solutions to future challenges.  

Recognizing that UK has a history of being at the forefront of crop technologies now widely adopted across the world, UK’s partners are dedicated to ensuring that the university’s grains and forages research and education programs continue to lead the way during this era of great agricultural challenges. We have a plan in place, but we need your help implementing that plan.