LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky farmers are trying to grow a new cash crop.
Bourbon recipes are dominated by corn, but rye is starting to become more popular with some distillers, like Woodford Reserve.
Most of the rye used for bourbon is grown in Europe and then imported. So Woodford Reserve is kicking off an initiative to encourage more Kentucky farmers to grow rye.
There are 26 farmers this year planting nearly 1,500 acres, which is up more than 300% from last year.
The goal is to have 10,000 acres of rye production in the next 10 years.
"So, not only if we can source our rye grain to the state of Kentucky and support our Kentucky farmers -- that would be awesome," Woodford Reserve Assistant Master Distiller Elizabeth McCall said. "We can also minimize our carbon footprint so we're not sourcing rye grain regions far away from us."
The initiative is a team effort between Woodford Reserve, American Farmland Trust, and Brown-Forman.
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