FRANKFORT, Ky. — Four leading spirits companies and the Kentucky Distillers’ Association (KDA) are joining forces with Precision Conservation Management (PCM) and the Kentucky Corn Growers Association (KCGA) to launch a five-year, $2.8 million initiative to support Kentucky corn farmers.
Kentucky distillers are providing tools for corn farmers to successfully implement proven practices that will support the long-term resilience of the state’s historic agricultural community while providing economic and sustainable value to regenerative agriculture in Bourbon and distilling.
The participating KDA partners will provide acre-based incentives to corn growers adopting reduced tillage, cover crops and maximizing their nitrogen use efficiency to reduce the impact of corn production within the Bourbon supply chain.
Initiated through funding by the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service – Regional Conservation Partnership Program, PCM provides data-driven conservation recommendations and on-the-ground support for farmers in Illinois, Nebraska and Kentucky.
The collaborative Kentucky partnership, formed by Brown-Forman, Diageo North America, Heaven Hill Brands and Suntory Global Spirits, will hirr additional conservation specialists to maximize management education beginning in 2025. PCM will work with farmers in the Central Kentucky region to implement regenerative corn growing practices on more than 100,000 acres throughout five years. With these practices and new on-farm resources, the goal is to ease administrative burdens and identify economic and environmental benefits that can be scaled.
“Farmers are spread thin already making hundreds of management decisions each year. They want to do a good job but face time constraints and decision fatigue when it comes to analyzing data and making changes,” said Greg Goodwin, director of PCM. “Our specialists work hand-in-hand with farmers to identify opportunities to improve the health of their farmland and success of their operation. We are grateful for our partnership with the KDA and Kentucky distilleries as we make these great ideas a reality by supporting our farmers in effective, regenerative practices — a win-win for our industries.”
Joseph Sisk of Sisk Farms in Christian County said PCM has helped him better understand how farm practices are closely tied to the supply chain and increased buyers trust that Sisk crops support their sustainability objectives.
The collaborative effort will also expand PCM’s efforts in Kentucky to benchmark individual farm financials against an anonymized, regional and statewide dataset in an annual Resource Analysis and Assessment Plan. This will be utilized by farmers to understand where they can profitably implement conservation practices. This service is free to farmers, and they will receive a sign-on incentive for their time.
“With much of our distillers’ corn being produced in Kentucky, we see the massive impact that Bourbon has on Kentucky’s ag climat,” KDA President Eric Gregory said. “As these four distilleries unite to support regenerative corn growing practices, I look forward to seeing how new resources and incentives can further propel our local farmers without impacting our bottom line.”
Together, PCM and the KCGA aid farmers in making economically viable conservation decisions by providing a comprehensive range of data and personalized, expert consultations with PCM’s conservation specialists. To learn more about the program, please visit www.precisionconservation.org.
