Former Kentucky Department of Agriculture Chief of Staff Keith Rogers says Hardin County has a proud history of producing many of the state’s agriculture leaders, something he has personally benefited from.
“Presidents of the Kentucky Cattlemen Association, presidents of the Kentucky Pork Producers, the list can just go on and on,” Rogers said. “I’m very thankful to those that opened those doors and got those things, those opportunities because it was the coattails of many of those leaders that I was able to follow and ride along.”
Rogers was the featured speaker at the Kentucky Farm Bureau Media Luncheon at the Hardin County Fair Tuesday. Rogers discussed recent developments and growth in Kentucky’s agriculture industry. Rogers said 30 years ago tobacco represented $1 billion of the state’s $3 billion industry, with poultry not even on the radar. In recent years, farm receipts have cleared the $8 billion mark, with poultry, beef, and grains the usual top commodities.
Rogers said the more than 76,000 farms across Kentucky represent what he believes is the most unified farming community in the country.
“97 percent of those are family farms,” Rogers said. “The average size in Kentucky is still small. The national average is up to 144 acres, and Kentucky’s average is just 171, so it still shows you that even with that tobacco economy gone we still have a small farm-based small farm family.”
Rogers says efforts to diversify the state’s farming industry are ongoing, with fruit and vegetable production continuing to increase. Rogers says the story of Kentucky farming is still being written.
“But we in agriculture have to personalize that story,” Rogers said. “We have to acknowledge the consumer. We have to connect with that consumer’s wishes. We have to build trust with that consumer, knowing how that food is produced, and knowing that it’s done in an environmentally safe and a sustainable way.”
More stats on the Ag industry can be found on the Kentucky Department of Agriculture website.
