Contact Us
AgNet
  • About KDA
      • Office of Commissioner
      • Office of Administrative Services
      • Office of Agricultural Marketing
      • Office of Communications
      • Office for Consumer & Environmental Protection
      • Office of Legal Services
      • Office of State Veterinarian
      • Request an Official Appearance
      • International Trade
      • Kentucky Hunger Initiative
  • LICENSING & LAWS
  • Forms
  • News & Hot Topics
      • KDA COVID-19 Updates
      • Unsolicited Foreign Seeds
      • Kentucky Agricultural News
      • Press Releases
      • News Archive
      • Ag-Related Resources
      • Kentucky Hunger Initiative
      • Dicamba Training
      • Hemp Program
      • Licensing and Certification Portal(login required)
      • Livestock Entry Requirements
      • Market News
      • Pesticide Registration and Renewal
      • Pesticide Training and Testing
  • Online Services
      • Nuisance Weed Spraying Program
      • Ag Businesses Directory
      • Ag Ringtones
      • ARD Inspector Search
      • Free Web Page Builder
      • Hay for Sale
      • Hemp Licensing Portal
        (login required)
      • KDA Calendar of Events
      • Landscape Plant Availability Guide
      • Licensing and Certification Portal
        (login required)
      • Nuisance Weed Spraying Program
      • Online Permitting System
      • Pest Control Company Directory
      • Pollinator Protection Registration System
      • Product Registration and Renewal System
      • Purebred Breeders Directory
      • Service Agency
      • Stray or Abandoned Horses
  • Animal
      • Animal Control
      • Animal Disposal and Rendering
      • Animal Health
      • Animal Marketing Programs
      • Aquaculture
      • Beekeeping
      • Brands
      • Composting
      • Emergency Management
      • Equine
      • Farmed Cervids
      • Livestock
      • Livestock Welfare Complaints
      • Market News
      • Movement and Identification
      • Online Permitting System
      • Poultry
      • Purebred Breeders Directory
      • Spay/Neuter
      • State Veterinarian
      • Stockyards and Dealers
      • Stray or Abandoned Horses
  • Plant
      • Farmers Markets
      • Forage/Hay Testing
      • GAP-Good Agriculture Practices
      • Ginseng
      • Grape and Wine
      • Hemp
      • Hemp Licensing Portal
        (login required)
      • Horticulture
      • Landscape Plant Availability Guide
      • Organic
      • Plant Marketing Programs
      • Produce Safety Program
  • Regulatory
      • Aerial Recreational Devices
      • Amusement Ride Inspections
      • Brands
      • Composting
      • Egg Licensing
      • Food Programs
      • Grain Licensing and Regulation
      • Grain Licensing Search
      • Licensing and Certification Portal
        (login required)
      • Market News
      • Organic Program
      • Pest Control - Agriculture
      • Pest Control - Structural
      • Pesticide Product Registration
      • Pesticide Complaint Form
      • Pesticide Training and Testing
      • Public Pest and Recycling Assistance
      • Rendering
      • Stockyards and Dealers
      • Teen & Tobacco
      • Weights and Measures
  • Promotional
      • Ag Businesses
      • Ag Education
      • Agritourism
      • Appalachia Proud
      • Buy Local
      • CSA - Community Supported Agriculture
      • Eat to Win KY
      • Emergency Management
      • Farm License Plate
      • Farm Safety
      • Farm to Campus
      • Farm to Fork
      • Farm to School
      • Farmers Markets Directory
      • Farmland Preservation/PACE
      • Farms Are Fun
      • Forage/Hay Testing
      • Free Web Page Builder
      • Good Agricultural Practices - GAP
      • Grants
      • Homegrown By Heroes
      • Hunger Initiative
      • International Trade
      • Jobs for Vets
      • Junior Chef
      • Kentucky Proud
      • Kentucky Wine
      • Livestock Tag
      • Market News
      • Mobile Science Activity Center
      • Promotion and Development
      • Shows and Fairs
4
FEB

Students Asked for Essays on Farmer Suicide Prevention

 

$250 Prizes Offered for Best Essays That Urge Farmers to 'Think of Me; We're Thinking of You'

 

FRANKFORT (February 4, 2019) — Farmers and farm workers stressed by low commodity prices, natural disasters, and other factors are taking their lives in alarming numbers. High school FFA members in eight Kentucky counties are invited to write essays about the farmer suicide crisis.

Based on the theme “Think of Me; We’re Thinking of You,” the essay contest offers eight $250 prizes for the best essays from FFA members in Breckinridge, Grayson, Hardin, LaRue, Marion, Meade, Nelson, and Washington counties. Contest winners will be announced at the Louis Crosier Farm Safety Symposium on March 8 at 7 p.m. at Elizabethtown Community and Technical College.

“A farmer or farm worker who is feeling crushed by the weight of economic difficulties, crop loss, disease, and other challenges may not be thinking of the people who love and value him and want to help him carry on,” Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles said. “Some of Kentucky’s farm youth have taken it upon themselves to meet this crisis head-on, and we encourage them to put their thoughts on paper. Their ideas could help save lives.”

Essays must be one or two pages, typed and double-spaced. Essays will be evaluated on the basis of effective content that addresses the theme and subject matter. Spelling and grammar also will be considered. Staff from the Southeast Center for Agricultural Health and Injury Prevention (SCAHIP) and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) will evaluate the essays.

Entries must be postmarked by Feb. 18 and mailed to Dale W. Dobson, Kentucky Department of Agriculture, 111 Corporate Drive, Frankfort, KY 40601. Students must provide an unofficial transcript, a résumé, and a photo with their essays. Students must be present at the Louis Crosier Farm Safety Symposium to win, and the winners will read their essays aloud.

For more information about the essay contest, contact Elizabeth Gordon, director of the KDA’s Education & Outreach Division, at elizabeth.gordon@ky.gov or (502) 782-4125.

 

 

Press Release Sign-up

    In the News

  • 12/29/20 – Commissioner Quarles reflects on fifth year in office
  • 12/8/20 – U.S. Department of Agriculture awards emergency preparedness, animal biosecurity grant to Kentucky
  • 11/25/20 – Dr. Katie Flynn promoted to Kentucky State Vet position; Dr. Alex Hagan selected for Deputy State Vet slot
  • 11/11/20 – KDA partnering with other organizations to administer grant aimed at helping veterans
  • 11/2/20 – Kentucky needs to support farmers and restaurants during the pandemic
  • View All Press Releases...

    Broadcast Schedule

  • Across Kentucky
  • Cromwell Ag Network
  • Morning Ag Report - WKDZ 106.5 FM

    Kentucky Farm Fact

  • Kentucky has 184 organic farms that account for $14 million in sales. #KyAg365

KDA Video

Beekeeping 101: A Guide for Beginners

State Apiarist Tammy Horn Potter tells beginner beekeepers the four essential tools they need to get started.

Commissioner Quarles asked Facebook to stop rejecting pages that promote hemp

Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles told legislators about the conflict with a social media giant.

Commissioner Quarles talks to WHAS11 about Industrial Hemp in Kentucky

Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles talked to WHAS11's Chris Williams about the enthusiasm for industrial hemp.

The Kentucky Hemp Comeback

Kentucky farmers are exploring industrial hemp, a crop that connects Kentucky’s past to its future. Kentucky businesses are taking that raw material and turning it into products.

ABOUT KDA AGNET CONTACT US REQUEST AN APPEARANCE
KY Department of Agriculture |Phone: (502) 573-0282 |Fax: (502) 564-2133 |1-800-327-6568 |Disclaimer |Ag links
  • © Kentucky Agriculture Department. All rights reserved.