Chamber of Commerce meeting's focus is on benefits of agriculture

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November 3, 2009

By HEATHER PYLES, CJ Staff Writer The Commonwealth Journal Tue Nov 03, 2009, 11:32 PM EST

Agriculture and its importance to the county, state, and nation was the topic of discussion at this week’s Somerset-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce meeting.

“You can take any road out of Somerset, you’re going to see nice farms, you’re going to see nice homes,” said Mark Haney, with Haney’s Appledale Farm, during Tuesday’s meeting. “Farms with good fences and well kept, you’re going to see nice churches, new schools, all that is from a base, a back bone of agriculture.”

Haney, who is also the president of the Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation, spoke to the November membership meeting of the chamber about agriculture’s impact on the local, state and national economies.

“Less than 10 percent of our available income is feeding ourselves,” Haney said, adding that residents in other countries, even industrialized countries, see as much as 50 percent of their incomes go to feeding themselves and their families because of a lack of local agribusiness.

“It’s an amazing industry that takes a lot of people,” Haney said, noting that 22 percent of jobs in the U.S. are through agriculture.

Haney touched on an idea that has taken hold in many areas of the country. Saying that the ‘buy local’ sentiment is “picking up steam,” Haney said retailing on the farm is beneficial to both the farmer and the consumer.

“Retail on the farm works,” Haney said, noting that he can confirm that from his experience on Haney’s Appledale Farm. “Not only is it good for us as farmers, but it’s good for the county, it’s good for the way of life we have in our county.”

That’s not to say agriculture isn’t changing. Haney said ethanol production and renewable energy exploration will no doubt change agribusiness in the near future. Haney added that he’s been asked to represent Kentucky Farm Bureau on a task force appointed by Gov. Steve Beshear to explore the benefits of renewable energy for the state.

“We see this as a huge puzzle and there’s a lot of pieces to it,” Haney said.

Haney told Tuesday’s crowd that coal will continue to be used in the state, but that ethanol may still be tapped to bring business into Kentucky. Currently, a Christian County ethanol plant exists, but Haney said there’s certainly room for more plants to help ease the demand of the corn-based resource.

“More than 75 percent of gas burned in Kentucky is an ethanol blend,” Haney said. “Only about half of that is made in Kentucky.”

Add to that the idea of biomass and ethanol made from algae, and Haney said the task force is looking at numerous ways to hopefully bring renewable energy into the forefront of Kentucky citizens’ minds.

“There’s a lot of things on the table we’re going to be looking at,” Haney said.

In other news from the meeting:

• Seasonal flu shots were made available through Walgreens, and by the end of the meeting, several people had received the vaccination, which has been in limited supply.

• Brooke Carey, community representative for the American Cancer Society, was honored as the 2009 Businesswoman of the Year.

• Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital CEO Jeff Seraphine was accepted as the 2010 chamber vice president and Doug Parkey was accepted as second vice president.

• Pulaski County Schools Superintendent Tim Eaton was elected to the chamber board of directors for a three-year term as education representative. Larry Combs was accepted as nonprofit representative, Marion Price was elected as retired representative and Megan Damron as banking representative.

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