Food Logistics serves the entire food supply chain industry with targeted content for manufacturers, retailers, and distributors.
Issue link: https://foodlogistics.epubxp.com/i/467905
48 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 • FOOD LOGISTICS www.foodlogistics.com With its lush bluegrass pastures and horses that are almost celebritized, Kentucky has a lot to be proud of. It is home to America's only native spirit, bourbon whiskey—a $3 billion per year global industry—along with a thriving agricul- tural mecca and a world-class domestic and inter- national transportation and distribution hub. The initial attraction to what was to be Kentucky, in early settler days, was its unusually rich fertile land. Geologically, over 50 percent of Kentucky rests on limestone rock. It is said that horse breeding in Kentucky has been opti- mal because the horses' bones are stronger and healthier due to feeding on grass that is nour- ished by the high calcium rich mineral content in the soil. Interestingly, the limestone is what also creates the mineral-rich soil that is perfect for growing bluegrass, thus the nickname, "The Bluegrass State." The mineral rich limestone also makes Ken- tucky bourbon special, a la its terroir. Purists in the bourbon industry claim that bourbon isn't bourbon unless it's made with iron-free limestone water. The limestone removes the iron that can give liquor a bad taste and adds good minerals that create the unique and distinctive flavors of bourbon. Some bourbon distillers even specify that the barrels must be made from oak trees grown on a limestone shelf. Logistics is a key attraction Logistically speaking, Kentucky has long been an important transportation and distribution hub in America. Kentucky is old school Amer- ica, with its roots steeped in Civil War history. It was a "neutral" state geographically, situated right between the North and South, connect- ing the two. At that time, tobacco, flour, snuff and whiskey made up Kentucky's economy. The Ohio and Mississippi rivers were used to trans- port goods to the South and the rail system was used to transport goods to the North. Today, Kentucky remains a key logistics hub for the U.S. interior. With its central location, Kentucky offers domestic and international businesses access to a 34-state distribution zone containing two-thirds of the U.S. population and reachable within a one-hour flight or one- day drive (600 miles). The food and beverage sector is taking notice. Businesses in this sector are relocating or expanding operations to Kentucky, while others have been there for years. A sampling of compa- nies includes Yum! Brands, Inc. (the parent of Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell), The Schwan Food Co., Tyson, Papa John's Pizza, Nestle, A&W;, ConAgra Foods, Kellogg's, J.M. Smucker Co., Sara Lee Foodservice, Pepsi Cola, Coca-Cola, along with bourbon makers Jim Beam, Maker's Mark, Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey, Four Roses, Wilderness Trace, and Brown-Forman Corp., whose portfolio of spirits includes the first distilled bourbon whiskey (Old Forrester) as well as Woodford Reserve and Jack Daniel's, to name a few. Brown-Forman is also one of the world's largest producers of whiskey barrels— making over 600,000 barrels annually at its own cooperage in Louisville, with roughly 85 percent of those barrels used for Jack Daniel's Whiskey. So why Kentucky? Kentucky gives the food and beverage industry agricultural support for the raw materials it needs, including corn, soybeans, wheat, dairy farms, egg hatcheries, goats and beef cattle. There are more than 85,500 farms and almost 14 million acres of dedicated thriving farmland. Once the raw goods are cultivated and turned into products, the numerous container and packaging plants, as well as refrigerated ware- housing operations, are set to take over. • Charring whiskey barrels at Brown- Forman Cooperage. Old No. 7 refers to Jack Daniel's Old No. 7 Tennesse Whiskey. Kentucky Offers Tasty Incentives For Food & Beverage Companies Access to a world-class multi-modal infrastructure and a generous state economic development program are just a few. BY CYNTHIA Y. MCCANN O nce a year, adrena- line pumping, hoof stomping, pure American entertaining horse racing takes place at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky. In just over two minutes, the culmination of gen- erations of selective breeding, training and culture, manifests in what is known as the Kentucky Derby, the pride of the commonwealth. M I D W E S T E C O N O M I C D E V E L O P M E N T Photo: Cynthia Y. McCann