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FRANKFORT,
Ky. — The co-owner of an
86-acre Woodford County horse farm has joined the Kentucky
Department of Agriculture as director of the Division
of Producer Services for State Veterinarian Robert C.
Stout.
Tim
Turney of Shamrock Glen Farm will serve as liaison between
farmers and state animal health regulators, Agriculture
Commissioner Richie Farmer said. One of Turney's first
priorities will be forming and implementing a statewide
animal identification program.
“We
will continue to lead on this issue to ensure a safe
and nutritious food supply for Kentucky families,"
Commissioner Farmer said. "Tim Turney's vast experience
will help us to do that, while minimizing the economic
burden on farmers.”
“We
want to address issues involving producer organizations
and individual producers in a two-way, user-friendly
manner,” Turney said.
The
single case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE,
commonly called “mad cow disease”) reported last year
in Washington state led the U.S. Department of Agriculture
and state agriculture officials to work toward a national
animal identification system that would enable authorities
to contain and minimize the economic impact of a disease
outbreak.
“My
goal now is to set up a system that is the least burden
possible when it finally comes down,” Turney said.
Turney
said he will seek input from producers and producer
organizations as the KDA updates regulations, in order
to “bring services to them rather than impose rules
on them.”
Turney
has identified horses at Keeneland's thoroughbred sales
for the past 15 years. He is a member of the Thoroughbred
Club of America. He also has experience in the beef
cattle and poultry industries. He served as the voting
clerk for the state Senate for 15 years. He is president
of the 40,000-member Kentucky Youth Soccer Association.
He
and his wife, Lisa, have a daughter, Kelly, a freshman
at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and a son,
Patrick, a junior at Lexington Catholic High School.
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