A local businessman-farmer, Mark Antle, paid a visit to the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board last week and came away funds toward his newest project.

The board, chaired by Gov. Steve Beshear, approved A & S Livestock's application for $16,000 in Russell County and $5,000 in Adair County from Agricultural Development Funds to provide dead livestock incineration services to Russell and surrounding counties.

Antle, said the whole project cost him about $40,000 to install and the tobacco settlement fund grants helps to ease that strain.

"I am committed to creating opportunities that will make Kentucky's agricultural community stronger," said Gov. Beshear.  "Projects such as this one funded by the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board play an integral role in achieving this goal."

The goal of this project is to provide a clean, safe and cost-efficient service for producers to dispose of livestock carcasses without harming the environment.  This project has the potential to benefit all producers in the region.

Antle said the cost to farmers to have their dead animals incinerated would be little to nothing depending on which county they live in.

"The thing people around here like about our service is we can get out there the day they call us," Antle explained.

He said they had to clear regulatory hurdles to open, but the facility easily complied with the clean air standards and they are now licensed to transport carcasses.

Late last month Harry Kimler, who works with Antle, said they had begun incinerating animals.

Antle said the "Eliminator" is fired by diesel fuel and reaches temperatures over 1,000 degrees.

"All you have left is ash," Antle said. "We've had it analyzed at two different labs and it is some pretty valuable stuff."

He explained that the ash is very high in calcium and potash and they have been spreading it on some of their fields.

In order to break even, Antle said, they had to have at least two animals to dispose of before they turn the device on, but that hasn't been a problem.

"We've been having two or three farmers calling us almost every day," he added.

This project was one of the 13 proposals approved at the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board's February business meeting.

For more information about this project, contact Mark Antle of A&S Livestock Inc. at 270-343-4680 or mantle@duo-county.com.