Kentucky Proud creates business relationships

 

  Commissioner Richie Farmer

 

Kentucky Proud officials brought Ale-8-One of Winchester, Evans Orchard of Georgetown and Burlington processor Millard Long together with the idea of developing an apple butter product two years ago. Evans had access to apple pulp from its orchard and others. Long was able to produce special recipes in small batches. Ale-8-One contributed the concentrate for its soft drink to the recipe and utilized its brand awareness and customer base. The result was a high-profile product launch of another outstanding Kentucky Proud product.

 

Kentucky Proud is intended to help Kentucky food producers find markets for their products. One of our strategies is to look for natural synergies that will achieve the program’s goal while helping all involved to profit. In the case above, the apple butter utilized apple pulp that otherwise would have been discarded – not just adding value but creating value for a previously valueless product.

 

Food producers provide Americans the safest, most abundant and most affordable food and fiber in the world. Some look to experts in other fields to market their products or add value to them. Kentucky Proud producers work with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s marketing specialists to sell their products in retail outlets, restaurants and farmers’ markets. In the case of the Ale-8-One apple butter, we introduced three very different parties that combined their strengths and abilities to create and market a great product.

 

Kentucky Proud has grown from about three dozen members when I took office to more than 1,100 farms, processors, restaurants, retailers, state parks and farmers’ markets today. The program generated tens of millions of dollars in retail sales of Kentucky farm products in 2007. When consumers see the Kentucky Proud logo on a product, they know it was made with care by their friends and neighbors down the road. People are paying more attention to what’s in their food and where it comes from, and the salmonella scare has focused attention on the advantages of buying local. Home-grown vegetables are flying off the shelves at farmers’ markets all over the state.

 

My life experience – in school, in athletics, in business and now as a public servant – has taught me the importance of teamwork. A group of people working toward a common goal can achieve great things. That’s the guiding philosophy behind Kentucky Proud – bringing people together to get Kentucky Proud products to market, with the ultimate goal of helping Kentucky farmers stay on the farm. Contact our marketing office today at (502) 564-4983, and let’s see what we can do to make your business Kentucky Proud.