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
24
MAR

Quarles Praises Kentucky Farm Community On National Ag Day

Recognizes Ag Economic Impact, COVID-19 Pandemic Response During National Ag Week

FRANKFORT (March 24, 2020) Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Ryan Quarles encourages all Kentuckians to celebrate Kentucky’s agriculture community on National Ag Day today and National Ag Week all week long.

“It’s important to realize during National Ag Week that Kentucky’s 75,000 farm families are responsible for more than 352,000 jobs and $45.86 billion of economic output in the Commonwealth,” said Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Ryan Quarles. “As our nation and state mobilizes to fight the coronavirus pandemic, so are our farmers and agribusinesses. During this critical time, the Kentucky farmer will continue producing the food and fiber Kentucky, the United States, and the world needs to survive.”

    Here are a few ways in which agriculture grows Kentucky’s economy:
  • According to a report from Feeding The Economy, the economic impact of Kentucky agriculture is responsible for 352,120 jobs, $10.47 billion in wages, $12.10 billion in taxes, and $1.12 billion in exports.
  • Kentucky Proud, the official state agricultural marketing program, is a national model with more than 8,000 members and millions of dollars of new income for Kentucky family farms and small businesses.
  • Kentucky Cattlemen’s Ground Beef, a project of the Kentucky Beef Council, is sold in Kroger supermarkets across the Commonwealth and in Tennessee. Kroger has sold more than 1 million pounds of Kentucky Cattlemen’s Ground Beef.
  • Kentucky’s rapidly growing bourbon industry is responsible for $8.6 billion in annual economic output and an estimated 20,100 jobs, the Kentucky Distillers’ Association reported earlier this year. More than half of distiller’s grain purchases are made from Kentucky farms.
  • Kentucky’s world-famous equine industry generates $3.4 billion in economic activity a year and accounts for an estimated 80,000 direct and indirect jobs, according to the Kentucky Equine Education Project.
  • Kentucky is the leading beef cattle state east of the Mississippi River with more than 1 million beef cows as of Jan. 1.
  • Kentucky boasts two recently upgraded, state-of-the-art veterinary diagnostic laboratories – the University of Kentucky Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Lexington and the Breathitt Veterinary Center, which is attached to Murray State University, in Hopkinsville.
  • Poultry and eggs are Kentucky’s leading agricultural commodity with more than $1 billion in farm gate cash receipts a year.
  • Kentucky is No. 1 in the nation in production of burley tobacco, dark fire-cured tobacco, and dark air-cured tobacco.
  • Kentucky ranked in the top 15 states in production of corn, soybeans, cattle, hay, and winter wheat in 2017.

“As our farmers are supporting everyone during this pandemic, it is important that consumers return the favor and support our farmers,” Quarles said. “I urge everyone to support Kentucky farm families by buying Kentucky Proud if they can, whether that is shopping from a Farmer’s Market or grabbing pick-up from a Kentucky Proud restaurant. If you like to eat, thank a Kentucky farmer, during National Ag Week and all year long.”

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.