Boone County is set to receive $99,164 in tobacco settlement funds from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund, according to a December report from the Tobacco Settlement Agreement Fund Oversight Committee.
The Kentucky Agricultural Development Board approved funding for the County Agricultural Investment Program, which provides Kentucky agricultural producers with cost-share assistance on practices to improve and diversify their current farm operations. The program’s administrator is the Northern Kentucky Cattle Association.
The funding comes from the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement Fund, which was created in 1998 as a result of the Agreement between four major tobacco product manufacturers and 46 states.
After the settlement, the general assembly established guidelines for distributing and investing settlement funds. In addition, the general assembly created and established the framework for the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board, which is responsible for distributing a portion of tobacco settlement funds through the board.