FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles was elected president of the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture (SASDA) for 2019-2020 in its annual conference this week.
“I am honored and humbled to be elected by my peers in the other southern state departments of agriculture,” Commissioner Quarles said. “This position will enable me to utilize Kentucky’s positive relationship with the federal administration to benefit agriculture in Kentucky and the other member states. I look forward to representing Kentucky and the other southern states in discussions of national agriculture policy.”
As president of SASDA, Commissioner Quarles will host the organization’s 2020 conference.
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 president, Commissioner Quarles currently serves as second vice president 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. 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.
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