KDA grant funds awarded through USDA funds

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 11, 2025) – More than $2 million in grants was awarded recently to 27 Kentucky agricultural businesses to build resilience in the middle of the supply chain and strengthen local and regional food systems, Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell announced.

“Creating greater protection for our food supply chains provides an increased level of confidence in the food and products we grow and sale in Kentucky,” Commissioner Shell said. “These proactive steps are just one way we protect what we eat and create better lives for Kentuckians and beyond.”

This first set of awarded grants is a portion of the $8.6 awarded to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) program. USDA awarded an overall $420 million across the nation for the program, which is aimed to build resilience in the middle of the food supply chain, to provide more and better markets to small farms and food businesses, to support the development of value-added products for consumers, and to provide fair prices, fair wages, and new and safe job opportunities.

Eligible projects included those that expand capacity for aggregation, processing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, wholesaling, and distribution of food products, for specialty crops, dairy, grains for human consumption, aquaculture, and other food products, excluding meat and poultry.

The funds for RFSI come out of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) for states and territories via formula funding. To award its share, KDA worked in partnership with USDA to make competitive subawards to support infrastructure and equipment grants. A five-member panel combed through 138 applications requesting more than $32 million for infrastructure projects and more than $7 million for equipment-only projects to determine the ones best suited for the guidelines of the program. The most recently awarded Kentucky grants were all equipment-only grants.

The equipment only grant applicants could apply for cost-share support from a minimum of $10,000 to a maximum of $100,000 for eligible equipment. Successful applicants can receive 100 percent funding for approved equipment.

 The recipients are:

• Wise Bird Cider Co., Lexington -- $100,000 for in-line, tunnel pasteurization system
• Circle G. Farms, Danville -- $100,000 for equipment to aid in grain cleaning, stone mill, sifter, scale and bagger, and vacuum elevator
• Haney’s Appledale Farm LLC, Nancy -- $100,000 for apple peeler, commercial fruit pie oven and large refrigerator
• Cecil Farm Produce LLC, Owensboro -- $100,000 for refrigerated truck
• Maple Crest Farm, Manchester -- $100,000 for egg washer and grader and refrigerated truck
• Lowe’s Produce, Murray -- $100,000 for commercial refrigeration units and a watermelon sort/grade/packing line
• Tardigrade Alliance, Frenchburg -- $100,000 for cold storage, wash/pack line, and refrigerated van
• Legacy Dairy LLC, Cave City -- $100,000 for refrigerated truck and liftgate
• Mulberry Orchard LLC, Shelbyville -- $99,700 for bin tipper, conveyor and washing line, and electronic sorter
• CANE (Community Agricultural Nutritional Enterprises) Inc, Letcher County -- $98,508.50 for freeze and refrigerator, cup packing machine, and trailer
• My Harrodsburg Honey, Harrodsburg -- $98,439 for honey extractor, freezer, barrels and bottling tank
• Elmwood Stock Farms, Georgetown -- $95,461.81 for walk-in refrigerator, conveyor washer, and salad/vegetable dryer
• Cornett Enterprises LLC, London -- $93,996 for refrigerated box truck and trailer and macro-bins
• Obenchain Farms, Hawesville -- $93,587.05 for walk-in freezers
• Allen Farms Produce, Monticello -- $92,599.16 for cooler, pallet jack, vegetable washer, freezer and refrigeration merchandiser
• Local’s Food Hub, Frankfort -- $91,574.27 for an oven, 30-gallon kettle and a blast chiller/freezer
• Evans Orchard and Cider Mill, Georgetown -- $87,939.11 for fruit and produce wash and walk-in freezer installation
• Barr Farms Organic Produce, Rhodelia -- $82,622.20 for conveyor, maple evaporator, refrigerated trailer and container unit
• Sustainable Harvest Farm LLC, London -- $79,880 for refrigerated box truck and trailer
• On Tapp Dairy, LLC, Springfield, -- $75,337 for cream, butter and ice cream equipmen
• Penn’s Country Hams, Campbellsville -- $37,569.25 for uncapping machine, extractor, filter, wax separator and bottling equipment
• Salad Days Farm LLC, Versailles -- $30,692.30 for dicer, dehydrator, freezers, and blast chillers
• Kentucky Maple Sugarwoods Farm LLC, Olaton -- $27,820.63 for evaporator, bottlers, tank and pump, ice cream machine, water pump and osmosis system
• River Bend Farm, Clark County -- $25,705.20 for refrigerated van
• Scarbro Farm, Grayson-- $24,995 for a cooler trailer and a portable generator
• Pink Elephant Farm, Smithfield -- $22,394.68 for equipment for value added production (butter churn, dehydrators, food processors
• Flourishing Herbs, Scottsville -- $10,434.85 for processing tables, dehumidifier, filling machine, freeze dryer, scales, and labeling machine