Appalachian Agriculture is all about connections

“I am an Eastern Kentucky business owner. I am a baker of corn bread, an heirloom seed saver and a hillbilly farmer. I offer no apologies. I am Appalachia Proud.” So begins an op-ed from Pikeville, Ky., native Joyce Pinson (left) who writes a farm-to-table column for the Appalachian News Express. The op-ed appears in the March 10 issue of the Lexington Herald-Leader. Pinson is advocating for the resurgence of Appalachia’s rich farming history, and we couldn’t agree more with her. “There is an agricultural renaissance going on east of the Winchester Wall,” she writes. “Farmers in Appalachia are one of our best kept secrets; so secret I did not even know others existed until the East Kentucky Food Systems Collaborative began piecing together a network.” In between talking about the types of produce she grows and how eastern Kentucky green beans are the best in the biz (a hint: they really are), she says Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer’s Appalachia Proud initiative is a good thing for Appalachian farmers. But she also talks about connection. How farming the dirt of Appalachia’s hollers connects us to our past and the ancestors who farmed to live, and how connections across county lines can only serve to make the agriculture economy in the region that much stronger, and how children who connect with growing their own food early are bound to appreciate it so much more as they grow into adults. All of this connection leads to great opportunity. And that’s the beauty...

Economic Freedom Zones are a bad idea for eastern Kentucky

Not too long ago, we wrote about the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s “Appalachia Proud” agricultural branding and education program. Tucked into that program is a call for eastern Kentucky to become an "Economic Freedom Zone." While the agricultural component is promising, the push for an Economic Freedom Zone is out of place and a bad idea for developing eastern Kentucky’s economy. Economic Freedom Zones are the brainchild of Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and are a radical version of  an earlier concept called “Enterprise Zones.” The basic tenet of Enterprise Zones is to reduce business-related taxes, which are supposed to attract businesses to areas with chronically high unemployment. The Economic Freedom Zone concept goes much, much further, all but eliminating many types of  taxes while also curtailing environmental and prevailing wage regulations. It’s a big idea, and an odd one to include in a package of agricultural education and marketing programs like Appalachia Proud. But it’s also a bad idea for Central Appalachia. First and foremost, tax cuts do not create jobs. Studies of Enterprise Zones have found that they do little to spur economic growth. A study from the United Kingdom found that “Enterprise Zones do very little to promote lasting economic prosperity. Most Enterprise Zones create a short-term boom, followed by a long-term reversal back into depression,” and that “up to 80% of the jobs they create are taken from other places.”  Multiple studies in the United States came to similar conclusions. The Public Policy Institute of California stated that Enterprise Zones...

New Appalachia Proud program could boost eastern Kentucky agriculture...

Eastern Kentucky’s local food and agriculture sector has struggled to match the progress seen by its neighbors in West Virginia, southeast Ohio and southwest Virginia. But yesterday, Kentucky’s agriculture secretary, James Comer, unveiled a new brand and program that could give the region’s small farmers a leg up. “Appalachia Proud: Mountains of Potential” is a new brand that falls under the statewide “Kentucky Proud” label. Along with the new branding opportunity, Appalachia Proud wants to work with area universities to develop “niche agricultural products” and Farm to Campus programs, as well as reviving Future Farmers of America and farm-to-school programs at eastern Kentucky schools. (The plan also calls for “Economic Freedom Zones” in the region, a problematic proposal that we’ll explore in a later blog post.) Place-based branding is an important part of developing a local food economy. For consumers inside the region, it helps to know that what they’re buying comes from nearby and supports the local economy. For buyers outside the region, an Appalachian brand sells a sense of place and connection to heritage foodways. Other Appalachian regions already have their own brands, including Food We Love in southeast Ohio, Appalachian Harvest in southwest Virginia and northeast Tennessee, Greenbrier Valley Grown in West Virginia, and Appalachian Grown in eastern North Carolina. For a place-based brand to work well, the customer must be able to trust the standards of that brand, according to a study commissioned by the Central Appalachian Network. The promotional material for Appalachia Proud states that...

What is the promise of a Promise Zone?

Earlier this month, President Obama announced a new initiative to fight poverty in some of the neediest places in the country – including southeast Kentucky. The Promise Zone Initiative is a new program that gives these communities priority for federal funding, and technical assistance in applying for it. In southeastern Kentucky, the program will be administered by Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation (KHIC), a small business lender with a long track record of success in the region. The Promise Zone announcement was met with much fanfare and news coverage, but what does it really mean for the region? And will it make a difference when there is so much to be done? Bell, Clay, Harlan, Letcher, Leslie, Perry, Knox, and part of Whitley County make up the eastern Kentucky Promise Zone. They have an overall poverty rate of 30 percent and an unemployment rate close to 13 percent. High school graduation rates range from 59 to 71 percent, and college graduation rates range from 8 to 12 percent.* Clearly, these counties need assistance. KHIC’s president has said their plan for the region includes job creation, increasing economic activity, improving career educational opportunities, reducing drug-related crime and improving broadband access. Career and college readiness, small business loans, entrepreneurship training and technical education programs are part of the strategy. All of these are great goals, and KHIC and its partners in this effort (including Operation UNITE, area universities and technical colleges, the Center for Rural Development and the University of Kentucky Extension)...

SOAR Report Released: What’s Next?

Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear and Congressman Hal Rogers hosted a press conference, with a guest appearance from U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, earlier today to release the final report of the Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) Summit. The summit, hosted in Pikeville last month, brought together 1,700 folks concerned about the region’s future. While largely deemed a success, many – including us – wondered what would come of it. Would it just be another photo op, or would we actually see some action taken to diversify eastern Kentucky’s economy? So far, it seems like it may be the latter. On Wednesday, the Governor announced his plans to make the Mountain Parkway – a key artery from Winchester into Eastern Kentucky – four lanes for its entire length. And just a few hours ago, we learned that the Appalachian Regional Commission will get $10 million to improve broadband internet access in counties affected by the coal downturn. Both of these issues were touted as priorities from the podium at SOAR, and t’s encouraging to see movement on both those fronts.  And today, we can read the full report from the SOAR conference. It’s a lengthy read, much of which is a thorough summary of the events of the day. But at the very beginning, the authors of the report make some key recommendations for how the SOAR Initiative should proceed: While there is significant long-term work to be done, first focus on the immediate crisis of job loss. There are low-hanging fruit...

More Kentucky leaders speak out in favor of diversified Appalachian economy...

In the face of continued production declines in the coal industry, more and more Kentucky leaders are speaking out, and calling for the construction of a different, more diversified economy. We, and others, often lament the lack of leadership on this matter, so any movement toward building a better economy for the region is good news. This week, Agriculture Commissioner James Comer (Kentucky Public Radio photo), who is a big advocate for bringing industrial hemp back to Kentucky, said that “the coal industry’s future doesn’t look bright and we have to look beyond that and learn to develop a new economy in Eastern Kentucky.” Read more about his comments here. He’s not the only one, either, as we have talked about on this blog before, here and here. State Rep. Leslie Combs received much attention in August when she said “it is crucial that we do all we can to help our people not just survive but thrive. The time has come to focus less on placing blame and more on how coal-mining regions can move forward.” And Gov. Steve Beshear and U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers announced last month their SOAR summit, or Shaping our Appalachian Region, as a way to talk about viable options for the region’s future. The times, they are a’changing, and it’s obvious our leaders are on board with looking for other opportunities for Appalachia to flourish in the future, which is a good sign. We’ll lead strong leadership to guide us into that bright future we...

Where Should Coal Severance Money Go?

Two Eastern Kentucky legislators have pre-filed a bill in Frankfort that would send all coal severance funds back to coal-producing counties. Eastern Kentucky local governments have been seriously struggling to get by as the coal industry declines in the region, so this money would mean a lot. Currently, half of severance revenues go into the state's General Fund, with the other half going back to coal counties in a rather convoluted path through multiple funds with different allocations and stipulations for use. Though plugging holes in county budgets wasn't the intention for the severance tax, it's increasingly been used that way as shortfalls have grown larger. (At the same time, severance revenues from Western Kentucky have increased as the coal industry there is growing.) According to a report from news outlet cn2: Many counties where coal is mined and transported have come to rely on severance funds to pay for its public services like trash pickup and operating water and waste treatment plants and even paying the utility bills for county courthouses. Letcher County Judge Executive Jim Ward told lawmakers that effect of the severance tax decline on his county has been tremendous. “We’re trying to figure out how we’re going to keep services up just to the general public,” Ward said. So it's not surprising that Rep. Leslie Combs, from Pikeville, and Rep. Fitz Steele, from Hazard, would propose such a bill. Shouldn't coal counties get the severance taxes they've earned, especially when they are suffering financially? On...

East KY Entrepreneurs Build Businesses with Training Classes

Starting a business is much more than just a great idea. Business plans, marketing, access to capital, insurance, taxes, budgeting and finances – these things can be daunting for any entrepreneur, but for those in rural areas, entrepreneurial training can be hard to access. Our friends at Making Connections have a great story on how two entrepreneurs from Southeast Kentucky are using training from the Southeast Kentucky Economic Development Corporation (SKED) to build their businesses: What do an eastern Kentucky bee-keeper and a paintball entrepreneur have in common? Well, they’re both small business owners! And on a sunny evening in mid May, just outside of downtown Hindman, these two came together with others to learn more about how to make their ventures a financial success. The evening marked the first of four sessions for a course titled “Entrepreneurial Smarts.” Sponsored by the Southeast Kentucky Economic Development Corporation (SKED), with support from the Appalachian Regional Commission, the class is being held at different locations throughout eastern Kentucky to help people get their business ideas off the ground.  Anyone is eligible and the total fee for the program is $25, which covers all the sessions, class materials and food. For more information visit www.southeastkentucky.com. Listen to the report...