The USDA’s Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) program is a cornerstone for farmers, ranchers, and agricultural producers who wish to diversify their operations and expand their value-added products. For the current 2025 cycle and future cycles, there are some significant changes that you need to know if you’re interested in applying.
Learn about opportunities and challenges for the Kentucky dairy industry in this guest blog post from our friends at the Center for Crop Diversification!
As we enter the new year, many people will begin to look back at their records from 2024 to analyze their financial position and begin to prepare for the upcoming tax season. If you have an effective and efficient recordkeeping system, this process can be smooth and straightforward. Check out these tips to improve your recordkeeping system in 2025!
Businesses registered with the Secretary of State (such as LLCs or corporations) are now required to report Beneficial Ownership Information. As of December 26, 2024, the deadline for BOI filing has been suspended until further notice. However, the report is expected to be required in the future. We recommend voluntarily completing the report to avoid having to monitor future deadline updates.
Farming is a risky business with significant costs, and one of the most expensive mistakes is failing to plan or oversimplifying the transition of the farm. At its core, successful transition planning boils down to clear, honest communication and planning ahead. When communicating across generations, consider addressing key issues early to build mutual understanding and ensure a smoother transition.
At KCARD, we understand how intimidating starting a business plan for the first time can be. Whether you’re starting a new business or creating/updating a plan for an existing business, there can be a lot of questions about the process of writing a business plan. While we do believe all information in the business plan is useful, there are three elements that we often encourage businesses to research further and expand upon.
Through the Kentucky AgVets program, we are working with key organizations throughout Kentucky to provide educational opportunities, hands-on training and access to funding resources. Hands-on training experiences can take two different forms; check out this post to learn which program is right for you!
KCARD is partnering with the University of Tennessee Extension’s Center for Profitable Agriculture to provide existing value-added dairy businesses with an in-depth analysis of their operation. This analysis consists of a comprehensive on-site evaluation by experienced and trained business consultants. The application deadline to be considered for the program is February 28th.
The beginning of a new year is often spent reflecting on the past year and planning for what is to come. We often make New Year’s resolutions to form new habits focused on our health and wellness; here are six habits that focus on improving the health and wellness of your business.
As a cooperative development center, KCARD publishes blog posts about cooperative development, including when a cooperative makes sense, how it compares to other business structures, and more! If you want to learn more about co-ops or are interested in developing a co-op, this blog series is a great place to start.
The Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (KCARD) board has announced Brent Lackey has been appointed KCARD's new executive director, effective November 1.
In addition to the Census of Agriculture, USDA conducts topical surveys that cover specific sectors in agriculture such as Local Food Marketing Practices. We dove into the 2020 Local Food Marketing Practices survey results that were released in April 2022, and we resurfaced with a trove of information that highlights the current status of local food nationally and within the state.
“What happens to the family farm?” is a question that commonly comes up after an unfortunate accident or death, which can add stress and tension to an already difficult situation. However, it’s ideal to create a plan early so the farm can pass more smoothly to the next generation. In this post, we discuss initial questions to consider and the best first steps to take when beginning the process of succession planning.
We have all felt the increase in our bills at the grocery store this year, but what does that mean for farmers? The difference between retail prices of food and farm-level prices includes costs of distribution, processing, marketing, packaging, retailing, and more. Buying directly from farmers and supporting local food suppliers helps bring more of the food dollar back to the farm.
Farmers purchase crop insurance to protect their crops from things like natural disasters, diseases, insects and market pricing drops. There are many myths about crop insurance, including that it’s too expensive and it’s only for “big” farms, which we’ve debunked in this post.
The Kentucky Center for Agriculture and Rural Development is a non-profit organization established to facilitate agricultural and rural businesses in Kentucky. We are supported primarily through grants provided by the USDA Rural Cooperative Development Program and the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board. Additional support is provided through our work with partners around the state and through fees charged for select client services.
