Central Virginia Benefitting From tobacco Settlement Money

Source from:  Richmond Times-Dispatch 01/05/2009

Some of Virginia's "tobacco settlement" money this year helped pay for cattle chutes, a set of metal bars that makes it a little easier and safer for Eric Morgan and farmers like him to do the work that leads to better herds of beef cattle. Bedford County farmers who had the right qualifications found 38 grants were available this year - of up to $3,000 each - when Virginia's Tobacco Commission chose to fund a Central Virginia Beef Expansion Project. Much larger amounts of tobacco settlement money have gone into a broadband network, college scholarships, and economic-development projects of every stripe since 2000, when Virginia started disbursing funds it gained from the National Tobacco Settlement. Central Virginia Community College and entities in three nearby counties - Appomattox, Bedford and Campbell - benefited from $10.7 million in Tobacco Commission money over those years. The beef project was a small part of funds the commission spreads yearly in tobacco-growing counties across Southside and Southwest Virginia. In 2007, those disbursements totaled about $70 million in the two regions, and $14 million of that went to farm-related programs, according to the commission's financial report. The tobacco fund has started receiving inquiries from people outside its region who would like to tap into its grants, the commission's chairwoman, Del. Kathy Byron, R-Campbell County, told the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce recently. Those inquiries are a function of the slowing economy, Byron said, but the commission's regional boundaries are firm, she said. Morgan has farmed for 25 years in Huddleston, and raised tobacco as one of his ventures until the 2005 "tobacco buyout" cut the number of leaf-producing farms nearly in half. Morgan, who already had a beef herd, was among the farmers who met the project's training requirements and other qualifications. He needed the cattle chute for work on rented farmland where he keeps about 25 cows and their calves. The grant "took care of most of it," he said of the chute's cost. Some farmers used the grants to buy high-quality heifers, said Scott Baker, agricultural extension agent for Bedford County. The commission sent $183,750 to five counties for the 2008 phase of the beef project, and Bedford got the largest share because this was its first year in the program. The commission's No.1 objective, however, has been broadband projects. "Broadband deployment is the commission's largest single economic development effort, with aggregate grants to date totaling over $86 million," according to its 2007 annual report. Fast Internet access, through a strong broadband network in rural areas, is a requirement for employers who may be thinking about relocating to the region or expanding their local operations, economic-development officials say. Another category of tobacco funds has gone to assist local companies that expanded their operations. In Appomattox, Bedford and Campbell, 13 companies received about $1.7 million during the nine years the tobacco funds have flowed. The broadband investment in Southside counties and cities since 2000 has totaled almost $40 million, according to Tobacco Commission records. Education is another priority the Tobacco Commission has adopted, and about 500 students from Appomattox, Bedford and Campbell have received college loans since 2000. The loans totaled $2 million, and won't have to be repaid if the students return to Southside Virginia to work in one of its 20 counties and three cities. THE SETTLEMENT In 1998, the attorneys general of 46 states signed the Master Settlement Agreement with the four largest tobacco companies in the United States to settle state suits to recover more than $206 billion in costs associated with treating smoking-related illnesses. Virginia's share will be $4.1 billion. Enditem Source: National Association of Attorneys General THE FUNDS Tobacco Commission funds disbursed since 2000: Loans/scholarships awarded - Appomattox - 90, totaling $270,342 - Bedford - 156, totaling $474,089 - Campbell - 352, totaling $1,079,130 Tobacco farmer payments - Appomattox - (106 farms) $492,128 - Bedford County - (75 farms) $535,548 - Campbell - (416 farms) $4,472,479