Jimmy Baird, left, a co-owner of Little Kentucky Smokehouse, conducts a tour of the new Union County pork processing facility for Gov. Paul Patton and others on Sept. 11, 2003.  Funded partly with a $950,000 forgivable loan from the Kentucky Agricultural Development Board, the $2.45 million locally-owned plant employs 50 people and will create an additional value-added market for Kentucky-grown pork.  In operation only since July, Little Kentucky Smokehouse already has contracts to produce boneless hams for Wal-Mart and Kroger. 

September 11, 2003