Kentucky Ag News
Vol. 10 No. 8 • April 18, 2017
The hunt for local food gets easier
Kentucky Proud has unveiled Buy Local, a new program intended to encourage restaurants and other food service businesses to purchase locally produced food products, Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles has announced.
Derby season is prime time for Ky. Proud
The Kentucky Derby elevates the Commonwealth to a global stage. The Derby – as well as the Kentucky Oaks and the run-up to Thoroughbred racing’s biggest weekend – also gives Kentucky Proud foods a chance to shine.
Conversation with the commissioners
Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles and former New York Agriculture Commissioner Nathan Rudgers talked about the job of the ag commissioner, the upcoming Farm Bill talks, the future of agriculture, and many other topics. (video)

KDA taking applications for Farm to Fork
Community organizations are invited to apply to host Kentucky Proud dinners now through the fall of 2017.
State vet lifts AI surveillance zones
State Veterinarian Robert C. Stout has released surveillance zones surrounding two Christian County farms following negative test results for low pathogenic avian influenza.
Raise a glass to Ky. wines at WineFest
Thirteen Kentucky wineries have been confirmed to participate in the 13th annual Kentucky Proud Derby Festival WineFest May 2-3 on The Belvedere at Waterfront Park in downtown Louisville.
Chefs assigned to Kentucky schools
Three chefs have begun work with Kentucky schools in the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Chefs in Schools program.

Murray State student gets 'buzzy' with bees
MacKenzie Jones, a former Kentucky Department of Agriculture intern from Frankfort, is building a bee farm, or apiary, on Murray State’s 40-acre facility dedicated to student learning.

Kentucky farmers invited to Twitter chat
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service invites farmers and other people who have answered a NASS survey to participate in a social media chat Friday at 1 p.m. EDT at #StatChat on Twitter.
MANRRS top chapter in the nation again
For the fifth consecutive year, the University of Kentucky MANRRS chapter was named National Chapter of the Year at the recent 32nd annual conference for Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences.
Retail food prices down 1.76 percent in Ky.
With this decrease, food prices in Kentucky have dropped four of the last five quarters according to the survey which measures 40 basic food items.

Coming up
Kentucky Farm Fact
- Kentucky produced 308 million chickens in 2015, seventh in the nation. #KyAg365