Address to Farm Credit Services Customer Appreciation Dinner,

Mt. Sterling, KY

July 31, 2007.

...It is a great pleasure for me to speak to you this evening, especially given the great commitment to agriculture shown by this organization and its leadership. 

     There are many ways this organization supports rural Kentucky, I will mention just a couple that I find extremely important.  The first is your commitment to education.   This year, you will fund over 100 thousand dollars in scholarships for agriculture students in this region.   Your endowment of scholarships at the University of Kentucky alone will make a big difference in the future of Kentucky agriculture.  You don’t get enough recognition for that, but I wanted you to know how much I appreciate it.  So, on behalf of all of us in Kentucky agriculture, thank you.

     Thank you, as well, for your support of youth programs such as F-F-A and 4-H, and for investing hundreds of hours in training for beginning farmers.   This is so important for our future, and it’s something that we at KDA have been focused on as well. Despite tight budgets, I have maintained, and significantly expanded the Department of Agriculture’s financial support for the vital programs of 4H and FFA.  Our Kentucky Proud Points program has given a record number of young people showing livestock a chance to compete for a share of over 100 thousand dollars in prizes and premiums.

     These investments in our young people are what I am most proud of.  We hope that many of the outstanding young people will return to the farm to become the next generation of agricultural leaders.  But no matter where their lives take them, we know that the investments we make in providing them with opportunities to develop leadership skills will pay off handsomely for all of us down the road.

     Four years ago, when I ran for the office of Agriculture Commissioner, it was in large part because I wanted to make this state that we all love a better place for all of us, including my three boys.   Since taking office, I’ve been traveling through Kentucky, meeting people all across this Commonwealth, and learning some amazing stories.

     I have met farmers who are diversifying into new crops, making it possible for them to pass their family farms to the next generation.  I have met businesspeople who are taking the products of our farmers and building new technologies that will improve all our lives.  I have met young people taking on responsibility of showing livestock, or completing an FFA or 4-H project, and have been inspired by their optimism.  I have met with people from all walks of life, from Pikeville to Paducah.  And Kentucky agriculture is making a lot of progress.

     For the last four years, I have urged all of Kentucky’s agricultural leaders to come together and meet the challenges we face.  And it is happening.  Government is working with private industry and the Universities.  Commodity groups are looking for common ground.   That spirit of teamwork has enabled Kentucky agriculture to score significant victories.

     First of all, there’s our Kentucky Proud program.  When I was elected, I promised to look for innovative new ways to sell more Kentucky farm products, not only to Kentuckians, but around the world.   What I found when I got to Frankfort was that producers were having trouble getting their goods on the supermarket shelves.  So, we spent some time building partnerships with private industry to help lower those barriers.  We’ve also worked hard to make sure that the Kentucky Proud brand is well recognized.  Recent research conducted by the Department shows that we are succeeding, as the percentage of Kentuckians who are familiar with the Kentucky Proud label has never been higher.  And our private partners are predicting that retail sales of Kentucky Proud products could be more than 88 million dollars at the retail level, by the end of next year.

     I am proud of what we’ve accomplished together when it comes to helping our county fairs.  The 106 Kentucky county fairs are important events in the lives of our communities.  They give us a chance to have some fun.  They allow our farm families to show their neighbors the fruits of their labor, and they give our children an opportunity to develop responsibility by participating in 4H and FFA activities.  They build ties between folks who live in town and those who live in the country. Working in a bipartisan manner, our administration was able to convince

 the legislature to provide new funding for improvements to our fairgrounds.

     I am also proud that KDA has been able to secure funding for a brand new, state-of-the-art motor fuel laboratory that will allow us to do a better job of making sure that you get what you pay for at the pump, and will also help us to expand the fast-growing biofuels industry in Kentucky.  In this case, I saw that the way things had always been done was costing the state too much, so I worked with my team and with legislators of both parties to find a better way to do this important work.   When the lab is up and running, it will not only save the state a considerable amount of money.  It will also improve the level of service that we can perform, and, eventually, serve as a revenue-generator for the Commonwealth.  

     We worked with a broad coalition of farmers to get legislation passed that makes it mandatory for the state government to buy local products, provided that those products are comparable in price and quality to the national brands.  We have worked aggressively to protect the state from invasive pests and animal diseases.  And we have made the Department more efficient, by insisting that our employees be cross-trained.  I know that when Frankfort spends less, it means you can keep more money in your pocket.  I have worked to make sure that we are wise stewards of your money.

     But our work is not yet done.

     Although Kentucky agriculture and the rural communities which rely upon it have made some important strides, many challenges remain.   You know it; you’re out on the front lines every single day. 

     We have a problem with securing enough water for Kentucky farmers to grow specialty crops.  We have a shortage of large animal veterinarians.  Rural Kentucky faces some critical infrastructure needs. 

     We’re working hard on each of those.

      But today, I want to focus on one of the most serious challenges facing rural Kentucky…the availability and affordability of health care.  

     As you know, we have a shortage of doctors and health care facilities in the rural parts of our state.  Not only that…the Kentucky Long Term Policy Research Commission reported a month or so ago that rural Kentucky will soon face a shortage of family dentists, as well. 

     And the costs have continued to rise, much faster than the general rate of inflation, to the point where many farmers and small businesspeople are unable to pay for the insurance necessary to protect their families.

     You know that politicians use the word “crisis” all too often.  But this is a genuine crisis…a crisis that threatens the security of hard-working families, just like yours.

     It is a crisis that has been building for decades.  Presidents and Congresses…Governors and scholars have all worked on the issue.  There have been numerous ideas floated to solve the problem, some good…some not so good. 

     Today, I am announcing the appointment of a bipartisan, all-star panel which will be headed by my friend, Vicky Yates Brown, a well-respected attorney and business leader from Louisville.   This group’s job…to comb through the numerous ideas that have been floated from both Republicans and Democrats, from industry and consumer groups, from doctors and patients…to find steps that we can take, not 20 years from now…not five years from now…but immediately to address some of the problems facing us.  They will look at the availability of health care, the affordability of health care, and ways that government and farmers can work together to use fresh fruits and vegetables grown on Kentucky farms to make a dent in the growing problem of obesity in rural Kentucky.  They will report back to me by the end of the year, so that I will be able to present a plan to the General Assembly at the beginning of the 2008 regular legislative session.

     I am under no illusions that we will be able to solve all of rural Kentucky’s health care problems tomorrow.  It is time we stop using the Band Aid approach to health care.  While we have been treating the symptoms the patient has died.

     But just because we can’t do everything today, that is no excuse for us to do nothing. 

     Now, some of you may be saying…why is this your job?  You’re the Commissioner of Agriculture.

     That’s a fair point, and to be honest, it’s not my job.  It’s your job AND it’s my job.  Others are also working on the problem.  Farm Bureau is deeply concerned.   I know that many of our legislators in both parties are working on it.    Some of the brightest minds at our Universities have been offering innovative ideas, as well. 

     But the problem of health care is especially acute in rural Kentucky, and when I talk to farmers and others across the state, they tell me that it’s one of the top concerns that they have.  And I work for you.  So I’ve decided that now is the time to bring everybody together to try and find common ground.

     As you have probably heard me say more than once, I believe that there is almost nothing that we cannot accomplish…if we work together.  And if we all work together, we can solve the problems facing rural Kentucky, including our health care problems.

When you build bridges, you can keep crossing them.”   That’s the philosophy I’ve used in Frankfort, and it’s the philosophy that I will continue to use in the years ahead.  Never forget that no matter what our differences, the things that unite Kentuckians are far more important than what divides us.  Even on difficult issues like this.

     So I’m optimistic.

     As you may have read, over the last several months, folks from KDA have been meeting with representatives of the commodity groups, with Farm Bureau, the University of Kentucky, and other concerned agricultural and rural leaders to develop a strategic plan for the future of Kentucky agriculture.  We are looking five, ten, even 20 years down the road.  We are asking the hard questions about what kind of world we want our children to live in.

  There are many, many different ideas.   Some are excited about biofuels, and how we can turn Kentucky crops into the clean-burning energy of tomorrow.  Some are excited about improving our livestock genetics, or promoting our signature equine industry.    It’s an exciting time to be involved in Kentucky agriculture.

     When my three boys are my age, there’s no telling what kind of world they will live in.  I’ve read that many, if not most of the jobs that will be most in demand 20 years from now haven’t been invented yet.   But one thing is certain…the values which grow in the soil of rural Kentucky…the values of faith, and family and patriotism…the belief in hard work, and treating your neighbor like he’s your next-of-kin…all of these will continue to be a part of our heritage, if we do our part to build a better future today.

     I thank you for your efforts and I thank you for allowing me to share this evening with you.  Until we meet again, may God bless.

Watch video excerpts here and here.