FRANKFORT – Bell County will receive $70,000 in tobacco settlement funds from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund (KADF), according to a report provided to Representative Bowling and other lawmakers at the November meeting of the legislature’s Tobacco Settlement Agreement Fund Oversight Committee.
The funding has been approved by the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board (KADB) for the County Agricultural Investment Program (CAIP), which provides Kentucky agricultural producers with cost-share assistance on practices to allow them to improve and diversify their current farm operations.
“I am pleased to report Bell County has been approved for $70,000 from the KADF,” said Rep. Bowling. “I would like to thank the KADB for approving this funding, and I look forward to seeing the impact the funds will have on the county’s agricultural industry.”
Funding is derived from the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement Fund, which was created as a result of the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement between four major tobacco product manufacturers and 46 states. After the settlement, the General Assembly established the guidelines for the distribution and investment of funds received from the settlement. Additionally, the General Assembly created and established the framework for the KADB, which is responsible for distributing a portion of the tobacco settlement funds through the KADF. Originally under the purview of the Office of the Governor, the General Assembly moved the KADB to the Department of Agriculture in 2021 to better serve the mission of the funds.
For more information about the Tobacco Settlement Agreement Fund Oversight Committee, please visit the Statutory Committee page on legislature.ky.gov.