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FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky farm organizations have rallied around their fellow farmers in the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast states with donations to buy the feed, fencing and other supplies they need to get their farms going again.
The Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association stepped up to the plate with a $5,000 donation – the largest single gift so far in the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s drive to collect donations of farm supplies and cash to take to Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.
“Everybody has compassion for those folks,” Eddie Young of Washington County, president of the KCA, said of the beleaguered farmers in the hurricanes’ path. “One morning I was watching TV and watched them try to round up their cattle. We all have cattle, and we know what it is to do those things. It’s going to be a long time before they get everything rounded up, and then they have to find a way to feed them.”
The Hardin County Cattlemen’s Association gave $1,000 and challenged its other county counterparts to do the same.
“The board felt very strongly that if we didn’t give money to this, we would have to question the value of our organization,” said Doug Shepherd of the Hardin County Cattlemen’s Association.
The Department is accepting tax-deductible donations of fencing, livestock feed, T-posts, chain saws, electric fence chargers and supplies, and other items through Oct. 7. The supplies are being collected at eight drop-off stations from Murray to Morehead. The Kentucky Cattlemen’s Association is accepting donations by cash, check or credit card.
Donations will be used to help farmers who face the daunting task of rebuilding after enduring two major hurricanes in less than four weeks. Jason Rowntree, an assistant professor at Louisiana State University, reported that thousands of cattle in Louisiana are stranded without hay and fresh water. Vermilion Parish was two-thirds under water as of Monday, Rowntree said. Other parishes had lost most of their fencing.
James A. Watson, Mississippi’s state veterinarian, wrote in a letter requesting help from Kentucky: “Due to winds and downed trees, fencing was destroyed and as a result our cattlemen and dairymen are in need of hay, feed and fencing supplies. Any donated items are welcomed. Thanks for your help.”
As an official in the Hattiesburg, Miss., emergency operations office put it: “You can’t overwhelm our need down here.”
The Department will send an initial load of feed and fencing next week. The remainder of the donated supplies will be transported after the Oct. 7 deadline.
The Kentucky Department of Agriculture is continuing to monitor the situation in the Gulf Coast region and will plan future donations and work crews as needed.
Donations of $1,000 or more have come from the Kentucky Pork Producers Association and the Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association as well as the Hardin County Cattlemen’s Association. Anderson Circle Farm and the Kentucky Dairy Development Council have given between $500-$999. KCA Executive Director Dave Maples reported that contributions have been received from individuals and other groups, including at least one church.
Other partners include Kentucky 4-H, Kentucky FFA and Kentucky Farm Bureau.
For more information on how you can make a tax-deductible donation to farmers victimized by the recent hurricanes, call the Kentucky Department of Agriculture toll-free at 1-888-567-9589.
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Thanks for to the following for their generous gifts:
$5,000 and over
Kentucky Cattlemen's Association
$1,000 and over
Hardin County Cattlemen's Association
Kentucky Pork Producers Association
Kentucky Veterinary Medical Association
$500 and over
Anderson Circle Farm
Kentucky Dairy Development Association
To view pictures of farm damage in the Gulf Coast states go to:
www.msfb.org
www.ldaf.state.la.us
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