As the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce pushes its agriculture committee into a new role as a branch of its legislative action committee, mixed feelings linger from members of the agriculture community.

The chamber board voted to make the move Tuesday, capping weeks of controversy after a proposal to eliminate the agri-business committee became public in December.

But the branch will actually do more for members of the agriculture community than a stand-alone committee did in its previous role, according to Doug Gorman, chamber board chair.

“Creating an agri-business branch of the Legislative Action Committee shows that the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce understands the impact that legislative decisions can have upon the agricultural industry,” Gorman said in an e-mail. “We’re demonstrating that we want to benefit our agri-business partners by putting money back into their pockets through our increased support of legislation that has direct impact on this segment of our partnership.”

But not everyone agrees with Gorman.

“They’re just trying to put out a fire they created,” said Kenneth Allen, owner of the Barren River Regional Livestock Market on Louisville Road, which generates more than $30 million a year. “It’s just like walking up and slapping somebody and saying you’re sorry - the slap still’s been done.”

Allen said he was disappointed in the chamber’s actions and that the whole matter was handled badly - more input should have been taken from the committee and the public before action was taken.

“Agriculture is really getting bypassed,” Allen said.

Ryan Miller, farm manager of Pleasant Hill Farms in Rockfield and president of the Warren County Cattleman’s Association, said, he, too, sees the chamber’s course of action as “a slap in the face” to the agriculture community.

“I don’t see how it is better helping us,” Miller said of the new agri-business branch. Miller was also a member of the former agri-business committee, he added.

“I’m very ashamed of the chamber,” Miller said. “I put part of the blame on us as the agri-business committee and a lot of the blame on the chamber.”

Miller wouldn’t say whether the Cattleman’s Association board and its constituents will keep its membership with the chamber.

“Our board and membership will decide that,” Miller said. “They asked us to join; they haven’t done anything for us - when I say us - the board of the Warren County Cattleman’s Association. They never once came to us and asked us how they can help us or make our organization better.”

Hartland Equipment owner Sam Lawson withdrew his company’s membership in response to the proposal to eliminate the agri-business committee.

According to Gorman, the agri-business branch will be appointed by the board and will report to the Legislative Action Committee, with a member of the branch holding a permanent seat.

“Being able to affect how they’re able to do their business legislatively is more than providing networking opportunities,” Gorman said this morning.

Gorman also said that the chamber’s most recent satisfaction survey guided the board’s actions and overall direction for programs for its 1,300 partners. The survey indicated that 23 of 74 respondents said they had attended an agri-business event in the past year and only 11 of 59 respondents said that they were interested in learning more about the agri-business committee.

“Conversely, respondents indicated that they see the chamber’s most important role as being legislative representation,” Gorman said.

The new role of an agri-business branch of the Legislative Action Committee will be to research “relevant agri-business issues that can be incorporated into the chamber’s legislative agendas,” according to a press release issued by the chamber Tuesday.

The chamber’s move puts an end to the agri-business committee’s more than 30 years of mostly special events that promoted agriculture’s place in Warren County - longer than Joanna Coles, who was president of the committee at the time of its elimination, has been alive, she said. Coles spoke to the chamber’s board Tuesday to air concerns from the agri-business community.

Gorman will meet with Coles tomorrow to continue the process of appointing members to the branch. Members should be in place by the end of next week, he said.

Coles said she feels she’s making the most of the situation - the economic viability of farmers remains the top priority and having another voice for farmers on the legislative level adds to other organizations many farmers participate in, like the Kentucky Farm Bureau.

“I do feel like there needs to be more discussion,” Coles said. “Sometimes new is not bad ... If we could agree on some special events, that would be great.

“The committee’s role in the past was to carry out special events in promotion of their agri-business awareness week. We sponsored the November coffee hour during Farm City week in promotion of agriculture,” Coles said. “It’s always been focused on these special events - it was probably a time to look at a new focus.

“People may have had fun at last year’s Farm Family Picnic, but did it make farmer’s more money? No,” she said, pointing out that taking a part in shaping legislative action just might.

From 1993 to 2006, the chamber recognized a Warren County farm family each year with an award for “demonstrating proven farming practices and involvement in community and civic activities,” according to its Web site. That program was stopped last year - the same time the chamber reshuffled the Agri-business Person of the Year award, which was given from 2000 to 2006, replacing it with the Warren County and South Central Kentucky Agriculture Hall of Fame Awards. In 2001, the chamber received $150,000 from the Governor’s Office of Agriculture Policy to distribute funds from the state’s agricultural diversification program to Warren County farmers, according to project analyst Kyle Day.

Linda Dickerson, former three-time chair of the agri-business committee, said she hopes the special events will be revived.

“They showed our pride in agriculture and they were important,” Dickerson said. “I’m glad the chamber recognizes agriculture. I’m looking forward to accomplishing much in 2008. I hope that they will genuinely promote agriculture, as it is very important part of the revenue generating body of the county.”

Dairy farmer Carl Chaney, owner of Chaney’s Dairy Barn on Nashville Road, sees the matter as “a good step forward.

“I’m encouraged from what I understand from (the) action that the chamber is going to hopefully show that they realize that agriculture is important to Warren Countians,” Chaney said. “There’s a lot that the chamber can do for agriculture in Warren County and we all need to work together if its possible. I’m hoping that we can do more.”

The elimination of the agri-business committee follows the chamber’s overall restructuring efforts.

The chamber’s board of directors determined at its annual retreat in November that several committees - the agri-business committee, the programs and educational services committee and the governmental relations committee - needed to be re-evaluated, according to Jessica Thompson, chamber communications coordinator.

The board decided that the activities provided by the programs and educational services committee and the governmental relations committee would be absorbed by the workforce development committee and the legislative action committee, respectively, Thompson said in an e-mail.