Lincoln Delivers $1 Million in Energy Grants
August 11, 2010
Fayetteville – U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, today announced nearly $1 million in grant funding to assist Arkansas farmers and rural small businesses in making energy-efficiency improvements to their operations. The funding is provided through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). Lincoln announced the funding at the University of Arkansas’s Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Center in Fayetteville, where she was joined by Marvin Childers, President of the Arkansas Poultry Federation; Ron Bell, President of the Arkansas Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils, Inc.; Ken Smith, Director of Arkansas Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy. Grant recipients from throughout the state and local elected officials also attended the event.
“As Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I am pleased that so many Arkansas producers are taking advantage of Farm Bill programs,” Lincoln said. “In just one year we have increased Arkansans’ share of REAP grant funding by more than 12 times, bringing almost $1 million to our state. This increase is allowing Arkansas farmers and rural small businesses to lower their energy and operating costs while creating jobs and investing millions of dollars into projects that benefit our local economies and communities.”
The state of Arkansas has traditionally ranked near the bottom of all states in receiving funding from the REAP program. Last year, Arkansas was awarded just over $70,000 in funding. After becoming Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Lincoln made it a priority to ensure Arkansans had the opportunity to take advantage of this program. She coordinated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Arkansas Poultry Federation, Arkansas Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils, poultry integrators and other interested groups to assist agricultural producers and small businesses with applying for the REAP program. This year, USDA will fund 40 grant applications, totaling almost $1 million and meeting the funding allocation for the state.
Producers across the state are receiving REAP grants that will fund various projects. Examples include solar projects in Hot Springs, irrigation systems in Walnut Ridge, grain dryers in England, and poultry house weatherization projects in Northwest Arkansas. The grants will leverage over $4 million in project funding, helping local economies throughout Arkansas to generate economic growth and create jobs.
“This program creates additional economic activity and jobs in our rural communities,” Lincoln said. “These projects provide work for local contractors and business for local retailers. It also helps to alleviate some of the high operating costs our producers face every day. As a seventh generation Arkansan from a farm family, I know and understand first-hand what a tight budget our agriculture producers work with in terms of operating costs. With the improvements made possible by these grants, our agriculture producers can save hundreds and in some cases, thousands of dollars each month.”
Business leaders and producers praised the grants as critical resources that will create jobs and allow producers to develop more competitive and cost-effective operations.
“These Rural Energy grants were made possible by Senator Lincoln. She has shown leadership by making sure our applications for these grants were submitted on a timely basis, and she knew this was a program that would benefit Arkansas farmers and poultry producers. Through Senator Lincoln’s leadership as Chairman of the Agriculture Committee, she is able to help Arkansas tremendously,” said Marvin Childers, President of the Arkansas Poultry Federation.
“On behalf of Arkansas’s farmers and small businesses, the Arkansas Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils is grateful for the extraordinary effort put forth by Senator Lincoln and Rural Development to ensure that the REAP program resources were brought to Arkansas this year. Since this program’s inception in the 2002 Farm Bill, 2010 is the first year that this important resource program has been executed at its full potential here in the state. Thanks to their efforts, almost everyone in a large, diverse population of farmers throughout the state who applied for these cost share resources to make investments in energy efficiency or renewable energy was funded,” said Ron Bell, President of the Arkansas Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils.
“REAP grants play a large role in helping rural businesses increase their competitive edge and become more energy independent,” said Ken Smith, director of Arkansas Business Leaders for a Clean Energy Economy. “Energy efficiency lowers the cost of doing business, and that’s good for jobs in Arkansas’ rural communities.”
“Electricity and propane costs are the largest expenditures for a poultry grower like me. The REAP grants makes it possible for farmers and ranchers to make the energy efficiency improvements, which in turn helps lower energy usage making us more competitive. Through this process, I have seen government agencies, non-profit organizations, like Arkansas Farm Bureau, industries, and Senate Agriculture Committee all come together to help make this program successful for Arkansas farmers and ranchers,” said Gene Pharr, Arkansas Farm Bureau State Board Member, Washington County.
“We are enthused about the REAP programs designed to boost the local economy and help Arkansans. I want to thank Senator Blanche Lincoln for her efforts on this program. There is a tremendous amount of untapped energy resources that we are not taking advantage of. We have proved to the consumer of energy savings from 50-75 percent. Not only does that cut production costs, but it also reduces our dependence on foreign oil,” said Layne Nichols, Smart Heating Solutions.
More information about the REAP program can be accessed by the visiting the USDA’s website here http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/or/reap.htm
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