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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.

The Radcliff City Council met for a work session Monday evening.

Radcliff Police Chief Jeff Cross discussed six proposed updates to the Radcliff Police Department’s policies and procedures. One policy concerning juvenile operations is a new policy, while the others (active shooter, motor vehicle stops/seizures, promotion and assignments for sworn personnel, search and seizure: residences, and stop, arrest, and search of persons) are revisions. Cross said the policies are built on recommendations from the Kentucky League of Cities and the Department of Justice.

“If you get too far away from what they’re doing and what they’re recommending you do, if you need their backing down the road and you have a lawsuit or something they’re going to come in and stand there with you, so you don’t want to be too far other than just putting our brand and stamp on the policy,” Cross said.

The council also discussed an ordinance that would approve the operation of medical cannabis facilities in the city.

“This is a basic ordinance to get going,” said City Attorney Mike Pike. “It doesn’t go into great detail of what these things can do and not do. This just allows them. Your land use restrictions will come into play in terms of what zones of the city these will be allowed to operate in.”

Pike reiterated that the ordinance does not ban the use of medical marijuana.

“Neither the county nor a city will have authority over the use of medical cannabis by someone that has a prescription and/or approved medical card for it, so that’s outside the purview of this,” Pike said. “If you guys enact this ordinance, it’ll have no effect on individuals within the city of Radcliff who are using medical cannabis legally, or illegally.”

Both the ordinance and the policy changes will be discussed at the Radcliff City Council’s next meeting on July 16.