"kentucky proud" news and stories

Some local food advocates in Kentucky are questioning a new Department of Agriculture program that will slap "Kentucky Proud" labels on beef processed in the upper Midwest.

A Business Lexington columnist reported there was an "outcry" from readers after learning of the state's plans to partner with Minnesota's PM Beef to overcome economy of scale issues that have prevented beef from becoming a major component of Kentucky's nine-year-old homegrown foods initiative. The situation's familiar to many cattle-farming southern states: Consolidation in the meatpacking industry has left Kentucky without the processing facilities it needs to keep its citizens supplied with affordable red meat.

"If we assume everyone in Kentucky eats an average of 80 pounds a year, with the processing capacity we have in Kentucky, we can provide only four percent of that consumption," Kentucky Department of Agriculture spokesman Bill Clary explains.

Under the new program, Clary says, PM Beef will purchase certified Kentucky-raised Angus cattle through Kentucky markets.