Continued fallout from the elimination of the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce’s agri-business committee is expected to be discussed today at a closed-door meeting.

The chamber will address restructuring its committees at its regular board meeting today, as some members have asked for refunds and tensions have arisen in response to the potential elimination of the committee.

With traditional farm commodities - corn, soybeans, hay, livestock, dairy and others - generating more than $72 million in yearly sales from Warren County farmers, many in the agriculture community are questioning why the chamber sent a memo dated Nov. 28 that said the agri-business committee would “no longer be under the umbrellas of the committee of the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce.”

“The Chamber Board of Directors realizes the economic impact of agri-business in our region, yet as an organization has found it challenging to provide the resources and partnership support to adequately carry this message due to agri-business representing less than two percent of the Chamber partnership,” according to the memo, obtained by the Daily News.

After seeing that memo, Hartland Equipment owner Sam Lawson said he made a hard decision to cancel his chamber membership.

“I asked them for my check back,” Lawson said. “You want to be part of the community; they don’t want to represent us.”

Others in the agriculture community remain disappointed - even Smiths Grove resident Roger Thomas, the newly appointed executive director of the Governor’s Office of Agricultural Policy.

“I am disappointed that the chamber has taken this direction, though I believe it is temporarily allowing them to assess their overall goals and activities for the coming year,” he said. “I believe they are underestimating the value of agriculture to Warren County and the surrounding region. Our Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce is exactly what it says - it’s an area chamber of commerce which includes more than Warren County, and I applaud them for that approach. When you look at the surrounding area, it’s clear that agriculture is a vital part of our economy, and it’s a vital and important part of the way of life in southcentral Kentucky.”

Today’s board meeting is closed to the public and media, but Chamber of Commerce Communications Coordinator Jessica Thompson said a representative from the agri-business committee will speak to the board of directors and air concerns as the board makes decisions on its standing committees.

“We have had two partners that have said that they’ve dropped (membership) because of the issue with the agri-business (committee),” Thompson said. “We’ve talked to a lot of partners and they’ve shown a lot of patience with us, and they understand that we need to revisit the issue. We appreciate their patience.”

Thompson said the chamber isn’t pulling its support of agriculture - it’s trying to find a better way to serve the agricultural community.

“We feel that our previous efforts didn’t do it justice and we’re looking at other ways to support the community and improve our relationship with agri-business,” Thompson said.

Joanna Coles, agriculture agent for the University of Kentucky Warren County Extension Service, said when she addresses the committee today, she will express the importance of agriculture to Warren County.

“Sometimes, agriculture does not get the attention as large industry because there are a lot of individual farmers that don’t make up one industry,” Coles said.

Coles said this controversy is an experience that may help the chamber better understand the rural aspects of the community.

“We want to find a way to work together with the chamber to bring about the most positive result for our partnership and the chamber. We’ll have to do some things to achieve that goal but I think it’s achievable,” Coles said.

Linda Dickerson, who was three-time chair of the agri-business committee, said the committee should be reinstated and given the freedom to function to its full potential.

“What we want to do is increase the economic welfare of agriculture and agriculture-based businesses in Bowling Green and Warren County,” Dickerson said. “What we need to do is work together. This needs to be resolved for the good of the community.”