Pendleton to Chair Tobacco Research Center Board

Source from:  newsdemocratleader.com 06/21/2006

Senator Joey Pendleton, D-Hopkinsville, is the new chair of the Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center Board of Directors. The center conducts and supports unique research programs that examine new agricultural crop opportunities based on tobacco and other plants. "The center has gone far beyond its original mission that focused almost exclusively on tobacco," Pendleton said. "These researchers are doing exciting work on plant-made pharmaceuticals and biotech projects. In addition they are studying a subject of particular interest to me, alternative fuels." Pendleton was instrumental in founding the Commonwealth Agri-Energy Ethanol plant, which converts corn into clean-burning ethanol, a renewable fuel source. The Hopkinsville plant, which opened in 2004, is already well on its way to becoming an ethanol-distribution hub for the Southeast, and will soon expand its capacity to handle 50 million gallons of ethanol a year. "As the price of gasoline rises, so does the demand for ethanol," Pendleton said. In addition to ethanol and bio-diesel, the center's research projects explore the development and use of tobacco as a production system for plant-made pharmaceuticals, and the discovery of new plant natural products having potential for commercialization. The underlying goal is to develop new crop-based businesses and technologies for Kentucky agriculture. As a senator, Pendleton, a life-long farmer, has been highly involved in agriculture initiatives and legislation. He chaired the Tobacco Task Force and was a member of the Phase II Board. Currently he serves on the Tobacco Oversight Committee, which approves Phase I projects. The center is located on the University of Kentucky campus and is funded by a dedicated tax on Kentucky cigarette sales in Kentucky. Enditem