During Kentucky Farm Bureau’s recent Congressional Tour, our attending members had a chance to hear from and visit with our state’s delegation all in an effort to discuss issues that are affecting farm families and rural communities, and to actively participate in the advocacy process.

KFB Candid Conversation presents a discussion about the topical issues related to KFB priorities, the agricultural industry, and rural communities, in a question and answer format. In this column, Boyle County’s Terry Gilbert discusses her many roles at all levels of the organization as well as being the most recent recipient of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s Founders Award.

I have been around long enough to have seen a lot of things in my life that were unforgettable. But perhaps nothing was quite like the damage cause by the December 10 and January 1 tornadoes that swept through so many areas of our state.

Since I have never lived anywhere else but in our great Commonwealth, I have always enjoyed the changing of the seasons. It's sort of a rite of passage here to move from one period to the other; each season is unique and different yet with commonalities, when sewn together, create this special place I call home.

Over the past two decades, Kentucky cattle producers have risen to the point of having one of the best quality cow herds in the country and the biggest east of the Mississippi.

The main CBOT contracts closed lower but KC wheat and soybean meal posted gains. Cattle futures closed sharply higher with very little trading happening to the downside. Lean hog futures were mostly higher although the April LH ended down. 

It doesn’t take long in a conversation with Suzanne Cecil White to hear the excitement in her voice when it comes to talking about the family farm.

Kentucky agriculture has often been referred to as a collective family, one that comes together, especially in times of need, to help and support one another. Never has that been more evident than in the days, weeks, and now, months since tornadoes ripped through portions of the state in the late hours of December 10.