{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The News Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net","title":"Ag commissioner visits Corbin Rotary Club &ndash; The News Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"4L5EwRj85u\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/ag-commissioner-visits-corbin-rotary-club\/\">Ag commissioner visits Corbin Rotary Club<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/ag-commissioner-visits-corbin-rotary-club\/embed\/#?secret=4L5EwRj85u\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Ag commissioner visits Corbin Rotary Club&#8221; &#8212; The News Journal\" data-secret=\"4L5EwRj85u\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/Quarles-talks-to-Rotary-member-3x.jpg","thumbnail_width":468,"thumbnail_height":391,"description":"Kentucky\u2019s Commissioner of Agriculture said last week that the state is well positioned to be even more of an agricultural powerhouse than it is today, provided it continues on a course of diversification and innovation. Ryan Quarles, who was on a re-election tour of sorts, stopped to speak to the Corbin Rotary Club last Thursday during the group\u2019s regular weekly meeting at David\u2019s Steakhouse. The Georgetown Republican noted the connection between the two towns \u2014 Scott County High School basketball coach Billy Hicks. \u201cCoach Hicks was a great ambassador for Corbin. We heard many stories about his time here,\u201d Quarles said. The rest of his speech to the club was spent touting the importance of agriculture in Kentucky, which accounts for $45 billion of the $206 billion gross domestic product of the state annually. \u201cThere is a lot of agricultural diversity in Kentucky,\u201d Quarles said. \u201cWe grow everything from apples to zucchinis, and everything in between.\u201d He said diversity was essentially forced on the state when tobacco farming began to decline. There were about 85,000 tobacco growers in the early 1990s. Today there are just 4,000 in Kentucky. \u201cWe\u2019ve come out strong. We wisely invested tobacco settlement money,\u201d Quarles said. Now, Kentucky is the largest beef cattle producer east of the Mississippi River. And poultry is its No. 1 commodity. Half of all the chicken eaten in the world traces its genetics to the Bluegrass State. Quarles noted that all of the sausage consumed at Cracker Barrel restaurants comes from Kentucky. And if you\u2019ve ever eaten a McDonalds biscuit in the eastern half of the U.S., it almost certainly came from Kentucky. Kentucky farms tend to be smaller, but more diverse and productive than the average farm nationwide \u2014 typically only about the size of a football field. Quarles talked at length about the opportunities presented with the reintroduction of industrial hemp into the state\u2019s crop profile. \u201cIt\u2019s not a novelty. It\u2019s a real commodity in our state,\u201d he said. \u201cWe sold over $17 million worth of industrial hemp in our state last year. It\u2019s becoming a product people want to buy.\u201d Quarles said he is relatively confident that its production will be nationally legalized in the upcoming Farm Bill. He noted other alternative crops as well, including hops, which is used in the beer brewing process. With bourbon markets booming (currently 7 million barrels are being aged) and international markets opening up, Quarles said the future has potential for Kentucky growers, despite uncertainty brought on by recent tariffs. \u201cWe already have the reputation for being the go-to state for high quality agricultural products,\u201d Quarles said. \u201cThat\u2019s a big advantage.\u201d"}