Farmland Work Group
Mission
The Campbell County Farmland Work Group is committed to improving the economic viability of agriculture, developing local programs and policies to protect our productive farmland, and providing education for the public about the values of farmland. Working through partnerships and the Campbell County Comprehensive Plan, the Farmland Work Group will endeavor to guide development to reduce sprawl and protect the inherent natural qualities of our county.
History
The Farmland Work Group was convened in 2003 by the Campbell County Conservation District to explore farmland protection options for the county. A matching grant through the Kentucky Department of Agriculture - Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easements (PACE) Corporation helped fund a Cost of Community Services Study, Agricultural Industry Profile, and survey of county farmers.
Meetings
Meeting times vary. Please check our calendar on the home page.
Backroads Farm Tour
In 2009 the Farmland Work Group started the Backroads Farm Tour. The purpose of the Backroads Farm Tour is to exemplify the importance of agriculture to the community, both economically and socially. These are opportunities to educate the nonagricultural public and county leaders/planners that agriculture is part of the county's economic engine and culture. The 2018 Backroads Farm Tour is on July 21, 2018.
Supervised Agricluture Experience Placement Program
The Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) is a project whereby students carry on a project all four years of high school in their agricultural classes. They choose a project in their freshman year and continue to work on it until they graduate. These projects vary depending on the interest of the student. Not all of these students live on a farm and have easy access to livestock, produce, etc. This gives them little to work with when choosing a project that may interest them. To overcome this barrier the Campbell County Conservation Districts Farmland Work Group is working with Campbell County High School Agriculture teachers to assist in their program by attempting to connect the high school students with local farmers, agricultural businesses, and animal based occupations to gain real world work experience in the agriculture field.
Ag District
The Kentucky Agricultural District Program is administered locally by the Campbell County Conservation District. This voluntary program gives farmers some protection under the law for their agricultural land. Program participants are ensured that their land will be taxed as farmland and that it cannot be annexed by a city without the landowners permission. Agricultural District Program participants are given higher priority when applying for assistance through the Kentucky Soil Erosion and Water Quality Cost Share Program. Since a landowner can withdraw at any time, the program does not help ensure a future base of land available for food and fiber production. Ag District petitions can be found below or you can contact the Conservation District office for more information.
Agricultural Water Quality Plan
Individual agriculture water quality plans are based on Best Management Practices (BMPs) that are identified in the Kentucky Agriculture Water Quality Authority Plan. These BMPs can help reduce the amount of pollutants that reach our water resources.
Many landowners find that they are already applying good conservation measures that protect water quality. Others find that only a few changes are needed and these often result in improved efficiency and profitability for the operation. Your agriculture water quality plan will identify the current BMPs and help you decide if you need additional practices. BMPs establish a minimum acceptable level for planning, siting, designing, installing, operating, and maintaining agriculture and forestry facilities and operations. Landowners who have a conservation plan, compliance plan or a forest stewardship plan may need to update and expand that plan to be sure that it includes protection of water resources. To be valid, Agriculture Water Quality Plans must be current and address existing operations on your land. You may also want to visit the Ag Water Quality home page at http://www.uky.edu/bae/awqp. This web site has an on-line tool that can be used to assess your operation and identify BMPs to be included in your individual plan.
