KENTUCKY — On this week’s program, Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Dr. Ryan Quarles (R) is our guest.

He was first elected in November 2015 and then was re-elected in 2019, winning 117 of 120 counties in the Commonwealth.

And before that, from 2010 to 2014, he was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives.

During this In Focus Kentucky segment, Commissioner Quarles discusses several programs and initiatives that have been introduced under his leadership of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture to combat hunger and connect Kentucky farmers to new markets.

“The Agriculture Commissioner’s number one job is to promote Kentucky agriculture, and that’s everything from our wonderful Kentucky Proud program to our State Fair, which is coming up in Louisville, Kentucky to our farmers’ markets and really strengthening our biological program. Our office also oversees some unique things like farm safety ginseng production. We also take a lot of time and bringing agriculture into the classroom with our mobile science trailers. Another thing people may not realize is that we’re we oversee all animal health issues in Kentucky. We’re not the Department of pets. But we’re Department of Agriculture. So our equine industry, whether it’s Keeneland, Churchill or our livestock yards, they depend upon our expertise to help mitigate animal diseases and make sure that markets stay open. And then, of course, the most maybe misunderstood part of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture is the fact that we’re one of the largest regulatory agencies in the state. I like to tell people if you fill up your tank with gas, if you were to weigh your truck on the side of the interstate, if you were to sell gold at the pawn store, if you were to fly out of any Kentucky airport, or ride down a zip line, a Ferris wheel or rent inflatable for your kids birthday party, it’s the Kentucky Department of Agriculture that plays a consumer protection role. And so I like to tell people we, the KDA, affects you more than just three times a day,” explains Quarles.

Quarles also shares advice for Kentucky farmers who are currently experiencing various forms of drought levels across the state.

“It’s not the worst we’ve been through, and my dad likes to remind me that I was born in a drought year. Back in 1983, which I think would be a definitively one of the worst years Kentucky has ever had. But it’s been eight or nine years since we’ve had a substantial statewide drought and, of course, weather is local. There’s some farmers that are doing just fine, but others it just depends on the amount of rain or not, but this happens about every eight or seven years or so. So it’s not abnormal. And we’ve had a couple of good runs these last few years. But of course, you’re only as good as your last performance. And so we suspect there might be some insurance claims this year,” adds Quarles.

You can watch the full In Focus segment in the player above.