Commissioner of Agriculture

Commissioner Farmer's biography

Richie Farmer was elected Kentucky's Commissioner of Agriculture in November, 2003, and was sworn into office in January, 2004.  He was re-elected to a second four year term on November 6, 2007.

Since taking office, Commissioner Farmer has fought vigorously on behalf of Kentucky's consumers and for Kentucky's agriculture industry.   Commissioner Farmer recently spearheaded an effort to protect Kentucky motorists by persuading the legislature to fund a new state-of-the-art motor fuel quality laboratory. He has also overseen an expansion of the Department's Kentucky Proud marketing program, which is helping to expand the markets for Kentucky farm products.

Commissioner Farmer just ended a term as President of the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture, an organization that represents farmers and other agricultural interests from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the US Virgin Islands.    In this capacity, Commissioner Farmer has worked to promote the interests of producers, especially on the 2007 Farm Bill. 

Born in Clay County on Aug. 25, 1969, he is the second of Virginia and Richard Farmer's three children. Before taking office, Commissioner Farmer worked as an investment advisor in Clay County. He lives in Frankfort with his wife Rebecca and their three sons, Trey, Thomas and Tate. A 1992 graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Commissioner Farmer earned a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management. He was also a standout player for the UK basketball Wildcats under Coach Rick Pitino.

Over the years, Commissioner Farmer has given his time to such charitable organizations as the Boys and Girls Clubs, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Children's Miracle Network, American Cancer Society, and Kicks for Kids.

Contact Commissioner Farmer at richie.farmer@ky.gov.

Commissioner's Corner

Kentucky agriculture had much to celebrate in 2008.

With 2009 underway, I want to take a moment to reflect on the past 12 months.

I’m pleased with the strides Kentucky agriculture made during 2008. Despite the challenges of sky-high input costs and a second straight dry summer, Kentucky farmers took in a record $4.7 billion in farm cash receipts this year. That was a remarkable achievement considering the state of the economy. Our farmers are to be commended for their hard work and resourcefulness.

Here are a few other highlights of the year in agriculture:

The Kentucky Proud movement grew to more than 1,300 members by summer’s end and forged a new high-profile alliance with Save-A-Lot to get Kentucky farm products into the grocery chain’s 102 stores across the state. Kentucky Proud became the state’s permanent farm marketing program in June when House Bill 626 became law.

Kentucky had an all-time high of 120 farmers’ markets this year. More than 710 farmers’ market vendors completed training for a state protocol to offer samples at farmers’ markets. Hundreds of Kentucky growers completed Good Agricultural Practices training for proper handling of produce to minimize the risk of contamination.

Kentucky’s grape and wine industry continued to gain in quantity as well as quality. Several Kentucky wineries earned gold medals at international wine competitions in 2008. And journalist Joel Stein gave an “excellent” rating to the Celebration White by Equus Run Vineyards of Midway in an article in the August issue of Time magazine.

We unveiled a new state agritourism Web site and logo to raise public awareness of Kentucky’s more than 300 farm-based destinations in more than 80 counties. The Kentucky Farms Are Fun Web site at www.kentuckyfarmsarefun.com enables consumers to search for agritourism adventures by activity, region or county. Tourism generates $10 billion in economic activity every year in the Bluegrass State.

Todd Harp and Susan Miller made history in July when the Commonwealth’s first official load of goat’s milk was transported from Harp’s dairy in Bourbon County to the state’s first certified goat dairy and cheese manufacturing facility, Miller’s Bleugrass Chevre in Clark County.

Bluegrass Lamb & Goat in Paint Lick was approved as a federally-inspected meat processing facility by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The producer-owned business is enabling goat and sheep farmers to market their products to restaurants and retail outlets. Kentucky remained one of the top five states in number of goats with an estimated 85,000 by mid-2008.

With American agricultural exports booming, Kentucky hired Silvia Alonso, an experienced international trade specialist, in July to be director of the state’s trade office in Guadalajara, Mexico. Kentucky exported $30.5 million worth of agricultural products to Mexico in 2007.

In March, I signed an agreement with José Manuel Alavez, president of the Mexican Association for Equine Development and Promotion. It will enable horsemen from Kentucky and Mexico to share knowledge and resources, and set up commercial and technical exchanges.

Agriculture officials from other southern states were so impressed with the Department’s farm and home safety program that some of them are using it as a model to start programs of their own. Farm fatalities fell from 50 in 1995 to 14 in 2007, and I’d like to think our farm and home safety program had something to do with that.

Program administrator Dale Dobson speaks to groups throughout the Commonwealth and stages mock rescues from farm equipment and ATV accidents using local emergency workers. He also set up an ATV safety course and trained the Kentucky State Police in ATV safety.