About Us | Citizens for Bourbon County Foundation

Our Mission

Citizens for Bourbon County Foundation’s mission is to offer research-based resources to community members and landowners to protect Kentucky's prime agricultural land while encouraging community engagement to strategically grow our urban areas in a sustainable and fiscally responsible manner.

Our Story

A group of concerned citizens united a few years ago when an agricultural zoning loophole that would have allowed nearly unmitigated development on Bourbon County agricultural land was brought to light. Then, the Bluegrass Station Airport/Airpark project was unearthed and the same group of citizens united to make Bourbon County's citizen voices heard.

After that project was defeated, some of those folks decided that a long-term strategy was needed to help Bourbon County grow in a way that made sense for taxpayers, for farmers, and for young people looking to make the county a home. Citizens for Bourbon County Foundation Inc. was founded to pursue a vision for Bourbon County that embraces our heritage, history, and cultural identify while encouraging thoughtful, robust group in our urban areas.

Our Board

Walker Hancock
Chair

Walker is a fifth-generation horseman and fourth-generation leader of Claiborne Farm, continuing a family legacy that dates to the early 1900s. Under generations of stewardship, Claiborne has become one of the most influential Thoroughbred breeding operations in North America, earning multiple Eclipse Awards. A University of Florida graduate in Animal Sciences, Walker gained hands-on industry experience before becoming president of Claiborne Farm in 2015. He remains deeply involved in the sport through service on major industry boards, including the Breeders’ Cup, Keeneland, and the Kentucky Thoroughbred Association.

Anne Archer Hinkle

Treasurer

Vanessa Dickson
Secretary

Bio coming soon!

Judge Vanessa Dickson (ret.) lives with her husband Bill Dickson on a Bourbon County farm that has been owned and operated by his family since 1792, where he raises horses, cattle, commercial hay and other crops. Vanessa is a graduate of Duke University and the UK College of Law, is a former partner in the energy and environmental law practice group of one of Kentucky's largest law firms, and retired from her 16 years of service as District Judge for Bourbon, Scott and Woodford counties in 2019. As a Judge, she served as President of the Kentucky District Judges Association and on the District Judges Education Committee training judges across the state in procedural and substantive law issues.

Why it matters:

According to the 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture, the state has lost about 17,000 farms and 1.4 million acres of agricultural land over the past 20 years. In just the last five years, from 2017 to 2022, roughly 6,500 farms have disappeared and around 546,000 acres of farmland have been lost—averaging well over 250 acres per day. Without strong policy action, financial incentives, and support for younger or new farmers, this loss threatens not just agriculture but the health, social fabric, and economic resilience of the Commonwealth.

Property tax revenue generated by sprawling developments rarely keeps pace with the long-term costs of maintaining this infrastructure, leaving cities and counties with structural budget shortfalls. In contrast, infill and higher-density development makes more efficient use of existing infrastructure, lowering per-household taxpayer costs while keeping farmland intact. Redeveloping brownfields can improve public health, clean up environmental hazards, and reinvigorate neighborhoods, while infill development curbs sprawl, lowers traffic congestion, and strengthens the vibrancy of city centers.