Search Site   
Current News Stories
Solar eclipse, new moon coming April 8
Mystery illness affecting dairy cattle in Texas Panhandle
Teach others to live sustainably
Gun safety begins early
Hard-cooked eggs recipes great for Easter, anytime
Michigan carrot producers to vote on program continuation
Suggestions to celebrate 50th wedding anniversary
USDA finalizes new ‘Product of the USA’ labeling rule 
U.S. weather outlooks currently favoring early planting season
Weaver Popcorn Hybrids expanding and moving to new facility
Role of women in agriculture changing Hoosier dairy farmer says
   
News Articles
Search News  
   
Two of three Kentucky ag commissioner candidates give their ag creds at NFMS
 


By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For those who attended the recent National Farm Machinery Show, there was no shortage of exhibits – but Kentucky voters had an added event with two of the three candidates running for Kentucky’s elected agriculture commissioner.
The Agribusiness Industry Network sponsored a forum featuring candidates Ryan Quarles and Richard Heath. A third candidate, Jean-Marie Lawson Spann, was invited but did not attend. Both candidates at the forum are Republicans and currently serve in the Kentucky House of Representatives.
The format of the event was not a debate, but a way to hear from each candidate being asked the same questions. The two were also given a chance to deliver an opening statement and closing remarks.
Heath, who is from western Kentucky, said he grew up on a small hog farm and is one of nine children. At 19, he said he got a loan to buy the family farm while working six nights a week at a job making tires.
“In the spring of 1975 I quit the tire plant, added tobacco to my farming operation as a cash crop, going full-time with corn, soybeans and tobacco,” he said.
Heath had also started college when a tough stretch on the farm began. After graduating, he began to teach agriculture, shop classes and math.
That would only last a year, when he got a job at an agriculture co-op store where he served as manager for 13 years. In 2000, he took over a venture his brother owned and had retired from: A barn-building business, which he still owns today.
“Right now Kentucky agriculture is experiencing a renaissance thanks to Commissioner James Comer and all the hard work he has put in,” he said.
He added the total cash receipts realized by Kentucky agriculture in 2013 represented a 20 percent increase, and he believes new markets for state agricultural goods must be sought, whether locally or through existing partnerships.
“There’s no reason in my mind why Kentucky can’t continue to lead the nation in innovation and grow another 20 percent in the years to come,” he said.
Quarles grew up on a family farm in Scott County, where cattle, tobacco and other row crops are grown, along with high-quality hay for the horse industry.
“I’m running for commissioner of agriculture because Kentucky deserves a commissioner with a real farm background,” he said. “Some would say that needs to be a prerequisite for the job.”
Quarles said agriculture plays such a special role in the state’s economy while also playing a vital role in the state’s heritage and tradition, and that it’s important to have someone who understands farming is not just a 9-5 job – it’s a way of life.
“And you need a commissioner who understands that, who lives that and can protect that way of life,” he added.
Quarles said he grew up being involved in 4-H and FFA before going to the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, where he explored current agricultural practices and Kentucky’s place in the international agriculture economy. He agreed with Heath about wanting to grow agriculture cash receipts.
“We want to have a department that is focused on promoting Kentucky agriculture in a number of different ways,” he said.
It is Quarles who received the endorsement from Comer, who instead of seeking a second term is running for Kentucky governor.
Lawson Spann, who is a Democrat, was the first of the three to announce her candidacy, last June. She is a farm radio host and vice president of marketing for Lawson Marketing, Inc.
3/6/2015