Candid Conversation presents a discussion about the topical issues related to Kentucky Farm Bureau (KFB) priorities, the agricultural industry, and rural communities, in a question-and-answer format. In an exclusive interview with KFB News, Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Ryan Quarles discusses his long tenure as commissioner and his insight into the state’s agricultural industry and its future.

KFB: As you prepare for your next chapter having served two terms as ag commissioner, what are some of your initial thoughts on how the last eight years have gone for the commissioner's office and Kentucky agriculture?

RQ: First off, I'm extremely humbled and honored to have served as Kentucky's Ag Commissioner for two terms. When I ran eight years ago, I promised Kentucky that if they're willing to have me, I'd give them eight years of my life. And it's been an honor. I think over the past eight years we've accomplished many significant things, including promoting agriculture to those who don't know who we are or what we do; we've done a great job with outreach among the commodity and livestock groups, but also among their consumers who know very little about what we do.

During Covid, we were able to promote Kentucky agriculture in ways that were highly significant to help promote our farm base. Some specific accomplishments over the past eight years have been the Kentucky Hunger Initiative, which is helping feed people. I’m very appreciative of Kentucky Farm Bureau's, $1 million- plus contribution over the years, but also connecting Kentucky farmers with our food banks for additional markets.

Another accomplishment has been an active role in international trade to help promote Kentucky-grown and raised goods abroad, whether it's beef or pork, into Asian markets, or bourbon with the elimination of a bourbon tariff in the United Kingdom, as well as implementing USMCA, which is the largest trade deal ever done in American history. And we continue to be very active in the implementation of that, especially with the biotech chapters. I think that's something that we've not seen in the Department of Ag in a long time, is an emphasis on trade.

We also played a comprehensive role during disaster relief, whether it's tornadoes in western Kentucky, flooding in eastern Kentucky, or multiple outbreaks of avian influenza, as well as being prepared for the unknown. We're leaving the Department of Agriculture in better shape than we found it for the next administration.

Some other notable ones are rewriting Kentucky's grain indemnity laws to cover our farmers in the case of financial failure. We have also improved our relationship with the EPA to be more farmer-based. On a personal note, during my administration, we have put the Department of Agriculture back together in one location for the first time since World War II.

KFB: Being a farmer yourself, you have a unique perspective when advocating at the government level. How much of an advantage has that been to the industry and farm families?

RQ: I would not trade growing up on a farm for anything in the world. It keeps me grounded and it prepared me to be an agriculture commissioner who has dirt on their boots. When I work on public policy, I always try to think first, how does this affect the Kentucky farmer?

All I have to do is go back to my family farm and talk with those who have mentored me over the years to truly understand how a government policy program might affect us. And so I try to stay grounded. As a former legislator, I feel like my background in 4H and FFA,  all culminated into bringing a skillset that I think Kentucky farmers deserve, and we need commissioners who are grounded and have dirt on their hands and underneath their fingernails because I think that makes for good policy.

On a personal note, I must always remember and be thankful for winning the Kentucky Farm Bureau outstanding youth program, which brought me to Washington DC for one of my very first trips straight out of high school. That experience inspired me in a way to choose public service as a career.

KFB: What do you feel are some of the challenges you have dealt with as ag commissioner?

RQ: Well, a lot of our challenges are not unique to Kentucky. We still have a labor crisis developing on American farms. We need to do a better job of defending agriculture from activists, as well as explaining to people the science behind the food that they eat. So those continue to be challenges.

Other challenges that are left to be addressed are the profitability of farms during income fluctuations, in which we've seen some high periods and we've seen some low periods. I'm proud that I'm leaving office with the highest farm cash receipts in Kentucky history, but that also means that we're facing increased labor costs and input costs that a lot of farmers struggle to deal with on an annual basis.

Another struggle has been making sure that we have the resources available at the Department of Agriculture. And I'm not just talking about trucks and physical equipment, but also its human capital. The Department of Agriculture is half the size it was 20 years ago. We are literally half the size. So, it's important to have a department that attracts people who want to choose it as a career. And that continues to be an issue because the Department of Agriculture is a customer service organization. We are here to work on behalf of our farmers and be a benefit to them.

Another challenge is making sure that we bring consensus when it comes to decision-making. I highly appreciate what the Farm Bureau does to unite agriculture through their committee processes and building a grassroots platform with policy that Kentucky agriculture can get behind. It's made my job easier in Frankfort and Washington D.C. when we have unity because that is not the case in a lot of states. And so I'm very appreciative that we've been able to work in such a productive, consensus-building manner over the last eight years.

KFB: The investment of MSA dollars in agriculture can’t be overstated. How important has the ag development fund been to Ky. agriculture?

RQ: The Kentucky Ag Development Fund came into existence when I was a senior in high school, and so I'm fortunate to have lived my adult life seeing the power and fingerprints that the tobacco settlement has made on Kentucky farmers with over $800 million has been reinvested into our farm community. We're so fortunate that our legislature then and now continues to have the wisdom to allow us to use these tobacco monies to help strengthen Kentucky agriculture.

Whether it's improving our genetics, improving on-farm handling facilities, the building of an ethanol plant and other agribusinesses, and having a beginning farmer loan program that cuts the interest rate down to 2.5 percent, all of these are strengths of the fund over two decades.

These are strategic tools that other states simply do not have and are jealous of. As chairman of both the Ag Development Board and Finance Corporation, I know that these programs continue to be a signature part of Kentucky economic development that truly puts us in a better position than other states.

As a kid who grew up on a tobacco farm, who came from a tobacco family, whose first vehicle was bought using my tobacco paycheck, I know that this crop may not be what it used to be, but it has paved the way for our current modern success due to reinvestments.

KFB: The USDA recently released farm cash receipt numbers of $8.3 billion, a record. With numbers like that, what do you think the future holds for Ky. agriculture?

RQ: Number one is an optimism that Kentucky will continue to be a dominant agricultural state within the United States. We are very efficient. Our producers are some of the best in the world, not just the country. And we're early adopters of technology. Kentucky has the reputation of being on the cutting edge of new practices, whether it's no-till farming, new crops, new markets, conservation efforts, but also the adoption of technology.

I also think that in the future, Kentucky will continue to attract a lot of talent here that other states will be envious of because we have such diversity in our agriculture. Our ag tech initiatives we will see entrepreneurs with big ideas come to Kentucky because they know that our state is a great environment to introduce new ideas and innovate.

Now on the flip side, Kentucky agriculture has paid off a lot of debt with record-high cash receipts, but it only tells part of the story, that we still struggle with consistent farm income. We have to be mindful of the increased cost of labor and inputs that eat into the bottom line of our producers, as well as the effects of uncertain markets.

Finally, we have to attract more young people to choose agriculture as a career, which means we need to continue to invest in 4-H and FFA programs so that we can attract the next generation, especially as we see the biggest transfer of land in American history about to occur over the next 20 years. A lot of producers have yet to identify who their successors will be, and we must always be thinking ahead.

KFB: You have said that you want to leave the Department of Agriculture with, “A full tank of gas.” Could you elaborate on that?

RQ: Whenever I borrowed my dad's truck when I was in high school, you better bring it back with a full tank of fuel, and that's what we're going to do for the next administration.

I think that the Department of Agriculture is in the best shape it has ever been in the modern era, and we want to not only leave a legacy in the Department of Ag but also leave it as a well-oiled machine so the next commissioner can inherit a great organization.

For example, we've been able to beef up our office of state veterinarian so that we can be better staffed during disasters. We've been able to move the offices to one campus, which hasn't been done since World War II. I will really miss our work community.

We've also made investments to make the Department of Ag a better place to work. I think that as a temporary steward of the KDA, I have the obligation to leave the department in as good a shape as possible and with a full tank of gas.

KFB: As your tenure winds down, do you have any plans for the future that would like to share?

RQ: I'm not done with public service yet and in many ways, you can say we're just getting started. Public service comes in many forms. Some of the most influential people I've ever met in my life are not elected officials, but they serve Kentucky in different ways.

I was fortunate enough to have a dad who farmed, and who was civically engaged, and a mom who taught and took us to 4-H and FFA events during the evening. Due to their sacrifices, I know that my heart is with public service. So, whether it's in elected office or other capacities, I'm here to serve, and that's where my passion in life is focused on right now, making Kentucky the best version of itself.

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve recently been selected to lead the Kentucky Community and Technical Colleges System as President.  KCTCS is our Commonwealth’s most impactful higher education entity, and is key towards addressing Kentucky’s workforce development issues.  Of course, I hope agriculture will benefit as we need more Kentuckian’s choosing ag as a career. I will bring the same enthusiasm I’ve brought to KDA to our community and technical colleges.  I’m both humbled and excited by the opportunity to continue serving Kentucky!