Kentucky agriculture commissioner thanks subcommittee for prior investments and asks for funding to retain staff, expand rural programs

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Veil told the Budget Review Subcommittee on General Government that programs funded in the last budget are delivering results and asked lawmakers to fund staff recruitment and continued agricultural economic development ahead of the next session.

Veil spoke to the subcommittee about several line items lawmakers added in the most recent budget, including Farms to Food Bank, county fair grants, the Kentucky Rural Mental Health Suicide Prevention and Farm Safety Program (known as Raising Hope), and funding for emergency preparedness and response in the department.

“Those funds are extremely important, not just to the folks in the state of Kentucky that need those services, especially a lot of our seniors,” Veil said, noting that many food‑bank clients are over 65. Veil said the Farms to Food Bank line was $850,000 in fiscal 2025 and is budgeted at $1,000,000 for fiscal 2026, and that the program both helps food‑insecure residents and provides a market for farmers.

Veil told lawmakers…