Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Ryan Quarles has announced Feeding Kentucky has purchased 10,080 pounds of Kentucky Proud pork sausage from the iconic Purnell’s “Old Folks” headquartered in Simpsonville, Kentucky. The purchase is funded by a historic donation from Kentucky Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company to Feeding Kentucky as part of the Kentucky Hunger Initiative last month.

CBOT futures closed mixed and generally near the day’s lows ahead of Tuesday’s USDA WASDE Report. Cattle futures closed sharply lower with August and October LC down the daily limit. Lean hog futures closed moderately lower, continuing the trend lower seen last week.

Kentucky Farm Bureau 2nd VP Sharon Furches discusses online tools for Ag outreach and education.

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UK Livestock Analyst Kenny Burdine speaks to low cattle prices.

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CBOT futures mostly closed strongly higher on support from an announced corn export sale to China and rumors of their interest in soybeans.  Cattle futures closed strongly higher with June/Aug/Oct LC up the expanded daily limit of $4.50/cwt. Lean hog futures closed mostly lower today as hog slaughter continues to be down sharply – 36% below year-ago, but up 7% from last week at this time.

KFB Candid Conversation presents discussions about issues facing the agricultural industry and rural communities in a question and answer format. In this column, UK Associate Extension Pofessor Kenny Burdine discusses the current state of the cattle industry and his role on a national team which came together to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the sector.

It is no secret that tobacco production has been on the decline for several years and for a number of reasons, including waning consumer use of tobacco products. As more and more tobacco users turn away from its usage, one Kentucky company is looking at this very traditional crop for use in a very non-traditional way – as a possible means to combat the COVID-19 virus.

As we make our way through the COVID-19 pandemic and all the change it has created, it is hard to ignore the discomforting news we are hearing as it relates to the agriculture industry, and our economy in general.