Farmer LeTicia Marshall grew up helping her grandparents grow tobacco on 40 acres in Metcalf County. She has fond memories of riding the setter. After becoming a mother, Marshall began gardening as a way to ground herself. That practice grew into a small urban farm in Jefferson County and her life’s work of advocating for food and land access in her community.
Now Marshall is in her third season of establishing BearFruit & Grow, a 4.23-acre farm in Louisville, from the ground up. She always wanted chickens and grew her flock from 15 birds to more than 80. While most are laying hens, she periodically runs a meat cycle with about 50 birds. It’s through that process that she noticed some challenges with small-scale chicken farming in Kentucky.
That’s why she’s excited that in April, Kentucky became the 49th state to adopt a USDA waiver to allow on-farm processing of poultry. It permits small-scale farmers to harvest up to 1,000 birds themselves while still requiring they meet all food safety regulations.
Rep. Josh Bray, R-Mount Vernon, was a consistent supporter of adopting the practice in the commonwealth…