Kentucky Equine Survey Enters Final Fundraising Push

By CnAgri2012-07-27 19:55:32 Print

As the 2012 Kentucky Equine Survey enters the final stages of data collection, a second and vitally important piece of the project intensifies. The deadline is a little more than a month away for the project to secure funds from the state's equine industry in order to receive matching funding from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund.

The University of Kentucky's Ag Equine Programs and the Kentucky Horse Council have partnered on the 2012 Kentucky Equine Survey, a statewide comprehensive survey of all breeds of horses. The study is being conducted in conjunction with the University of Louisville's Equine Business Program and the Kentucky field office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service. The last comprehensive study of this type was conducted in 1977.

"We just crossed over the halfway point of raising $100,000 from Kentucky's equine industry, and wholeheartedly thank our industry partners who have led these efforts," said Jill Stowe, associate professor in agricultural economics at UK and project lead. "Our Sept. 1 deadline for raising the remaining funds is coming quickly, and we are looking for other industry partners to step up and help this important project reach its full potential."

"This study is critical to every horse activity in Kentucky and will create a rich and unbiased set of data that should be a foundation for decisions by policymakers, educators, investors and business leaders for many years to come," said Nancy Cox, associate dean for research in UK's College of Agriculture, Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Station director and administrative leader for UK Ag Equine Programs.

The cost of the study is $600,000. The Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund committed $300,000 to the project, with $100,000 of that funding contingent on a match of $100,000 from Kentucky's horse industry and organizations. The UK College of Agriculture committed $200,000 for the study.

The bulk of the budget goes to the Kentucky field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, an agency that conducts this type of research regularly and is able to provide the highest level of confidentiality to participants.

Early financial support for this effort has come from the Kentucky Horse Council, Kentucky Quarter Horse Association, North American Equine Ranching Information Council, Kentucky Thoroughbred Association/Kentucky Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders and Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers Club. Additional financial support has been given or pledged by Alltech, Equine Medical Associates, Farmers Feed Mill, Keeneland, Kentucky Association of Equine Practitioners, Kentucky Dressage Association, Kentucky Equine Education Project, McMahon & Hill Bloodstock, LLC, Mountain Pleasure Horse Association, Northern Kentucky Horse Network, Sierra Farm and WebsterPharmaceuticals. Additionally, the Kentucky Horse Council continues to raise money through a grassroots campaign where private horse owners donate $10 on behalf of their horse. Personal donations have also come from Mary Anne Cronan, Lisa Lourie, Norm Luba and Nancy Stephens.