Commissioner Quarles signs National Agriculture Week proclamation at event

FRANKFORT (March 23, 2022) - In honor of National Agriculture Week, local McDonald’s franchisees, Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Ryan Quarles and local suppliers gathered Wednesday at a Lexington McDonald’s restaurant to recognize the quality Kentucky ingredients that end up on McDonald’s menu.

In 2020, the McDonald’s system purchased more than $546 million of products from Kentucky. This includes more than 260 million pounds of chicken and 1.1 million gallons of milk, along with many other commodities. During Wednesday’s event, Commissioner Quarles signed a proclamation recognizing Kentucky’s agriculture community during National Agriculture Week.  In Kentucky, agriculture translates to 684,547 jobs, more than $30 billion in wages, and $10 billion in taxes.   

“McDonald’s has had wonderful agriculture partners here in Kentucky for decades,” local McDonald’s Owner/Operator Gist Heinrich said. “We depend on the success, resilience and sustainability of Kentucky agribusiness to provide us their quality products so we can serve delicious meals across the state.”

Commissioner Quarles used the event to sign a proclamation declaring March 20-26 National Agriculture Week in Kentucky.

“Kentucky farmers and suppliers are committed to high quality and that’s a perfect match for McDonald’s and the standards they have for their food supply,” Commissioner Quarles said. “We thank McDonald’s for being a great customer of our great products.”

Kentucky McDonald’s franchisees welcomed the guests to the McDonald’s restaurant at 1845 Georgetown Road in Lexington to celebrate the diversity of products grown and processed in the state and the partnerships that keep the food and agriculture industry thriving. Dignitaries at the event celebrated McDonald’s partnership with Kentucky suppliers by sampling McDonald’s new Crispy Chicken Biscuits.

“Kentucky’s more than 850 poultry farms are committed to producing the highest quality chicken,” said Renee Carrico, Kentucky Farm Bureau Livestock and Environmental Field Specialist.  “This quality is important to a customer like McDonald’s and makes them a great partner for Kentucky.”

“Dairy farmers and suppliers across Kentucky are proud to work with McDonald’s ,” said H.H Barlow, Kentucky Dairy Development Council, Executive Director.   “The more than one million gallons of milk they purchased helped support farmers and agribusiness across the state.”

Other products that the McDonald’s system purchases from Kentucky suppliers include corn, soybeans and sugar.