FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, March 6, 2008

For more information contact:
Bill Clary

(502) 564-4696

HOUSE PASSES BILL MAKING KENTUCKY PROUD
THE STATE’S PERMANENT FARM MARKETING PROGRAM

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer thanked the Kentucky House of Representatives for passing legislation today that secures the long-term future of the Kentucky Proud farm marketing program.

House Bill 626 permanently makes Kentucky Proud the state’s farm marketing program, authorizes the agriculture commissioner to collect fees to fund the program, allows Kentucky Proud funds to be carried over from one fiscal year to the next, and establishes a 12-member council to advise the Kentucky Department of Agriculture on administering the program.

“This legislation will give our farmers, processors and retailers the confidence that Kentucky Proud will be in place for the long haul,” Commissioner Farmer said. “It’s important that we provide our farmers every opportunity to succeed. House Bill 626 does that by assuring that they will always have the full clout of Kentucky Proud behind them.”

House Bill 626 passed 94-0. It was sponsored by Reps. Mike Denham, D-Maysville; Tom McKee, D-Cynthiana, and Ruth Ann Palumbo, D-Lexington. The bill now goes to the state Senate.

Kentucky Proud helps find markets for their products. The blue, green and red logo tells consumers the product was raised and/or processed in Kentucky by Kentuckians. The Kentucky Proud movement has grown from a few dozen members to more than 1,000 since 2004. Kentucky Proud food products accounted for an estimated $80 million in retail sales in 2007.

For more information on Kentucky Proud, go to www.kyproud.com.

--30--