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Ag commissioner elected VP of regional organization

Kentucky Ag Commissioner Ryan Quarles

FRANKFORT (July 16, 2018) — The Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture (SASDA) has elected Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles to serve as vice president for 2018-19.

“I am honored to be elected by my peers to serve in this position to advocate for southern agriculture,” said Quarles. “As Congress continues to debate the 2018 federal farm bill and states move forward with food safety modernization, it is important that Kentucky has a seat at the table for regional and national discussions about agriculture. I will continue to advocate for Kentucky’s hard-working farmers each and every day.”

SASDA is made up of the Commissioners, Secretaries, and Directors of Agriculture from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In addition to his role as SASDA vice president, Commissioner Quarles currently serves as secretary-treasurer of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), a national organization of state agriculture officials who work together to develop policies that will grow and enhance American agriculture.

Commissioner Quarles was elected Kentucky’s agriculture commissioner in November 2015 and assumed office the following January. At 34, he is the youngest statewide elected official in the United States. Commissioner Quarles’ family has lived and farmed in Central Kentucky for more than 200 years. He served as a state representative for six years prior to his election as agriculture commissioner.