In the agricultural world, this is the time for harvest. Harvest time is a celebration of the hard work endured throughout the year – even as no-till farming and technology has changed the way we farm. The old adage of tilling the soil, planting the seed, weeding the plant beds, and tending to the crop still rings true.
This reminds me of the children’s story, “The Little Red Hen.” In the story, the hen plants the wheat, tends to the wheat, cuts the wheat, turns the wheat into flour, and eventually bakes the warm bread. During the process, she asks her friends, “Who will help me?” To her dismay, her friends simply reply, “Not I.” In the end, she reaps the benefit of her hard work, enjoying the homemade bread by herself. The book ends with its famous line, “and she did.”
Earlier this year, Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer announced that all farm license plate donations will be split evenly among 4-H, FFA, and Kentucky Proud. I want to make sure you are aware of this voluntary $10 donation when purchasing or renewing a Kentucky farm license plate.
Click here to visit our page describing the voluntary donation program.
The Kentucky 4-H Foundation has worked tirelessly since this opportunity became law in March 2009 to reach an agreement that a portion of the donations to the Agricultural Program Trust Fund would benefit Kentucky 4-H. You could say we had our “little red hens” working hard in Frankfort and across the Commonwealth to plant the seeds, till the soil, and grow the relationships to make this happen, “and we did.
Seven weeks after taking office, Commissioner Comer announced the arrangement with 4-H and FFA. Afterwards, it was time to work the ground elsewhere in the state – “and we did” – by announcing that the 4-H share of the license plate donations will be split equally between the county 4-H from which the funds originated and the Foundation. The 4-H Foundation’s Board of Directors approved a 50/50 split of its portion of the donations, with half of them being used to support state-level programs and the other half returned to support the county programs where the donation originated.
For those counties who worked their ground, tilled relationships with the farmers, and watered their relationships with the county clerks to promote this program, it is harvest time. The little red hens in Allen County raised more than $16,000. In Fayette, more than $14,000 was raised. In Jefferson and Bullitt Counties, more than $13,000 was raised, and in Hardin, more than $11,000 was raised. This week, the 4-H Foundation distributed over $60,000 to all 120 County 4-H Councils. This is new money, which Councils can use as they determine to support local 4-H members and programs. It’s all thanks to Commissioner Comer and the thousands of farmers who made the voluntary donations.
When leaves start to turn and work of the past year has been done, it’s nice to reflect on what has been accomplished and say, “and we did.”
UPDATE: November 2, 2012
