{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"The News Journal","provider_url":"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net","title":"Agriculture Commissioner makes campaign stop in Corbin &ndash; The News Journal","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"Kic0uozORX\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/agriculture-commissioner-makes-campaign-stop-in-corbin\/\">Agriculture Commissioner makes campaign stop in Corbin<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/qa.thenewsjournal.net\/agriculture-commissioner-makes-campaign-stop-in-corbin\/embed\/#?secret=Kic0uozORX\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Agriculture Commissioner makes campaign stop in Corbin&#8221; &#8212; The News Journal\" data-secret=\"Kic0uozORX\" 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\/2019\/05\/Ryan-Quarles.jpg","thumbnail_width":480,"thumbnail_height":319,"description":"Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles made a campaign stop in Corbin Tuesday. The Republican incumbent is seeking is second term in office. \u201cThis is the defacto voice of rural Kentucky,\u201d said the Scott County native who grew up working on a farm growing tobacco and raising beef. \u201cI have not hesitated to chime in on issues that effect people in rural Kentucky.\u201d Quarles said that as commissioner he has been an advocate for the Kentucky Proud program, which now has 8,000 participating locally produced products. \u201cWe have been able to reach an agreement with Kroger that has resulted in Kentucky Proud beef products being available in 85 Kroger stores,\u201d Quarles said. \u201cThat has resulted in more than 300,000 pounds of ground beef being purchased by consumers. In addition, he has continued to work to improve the farmers markets across the commonwealth by funding better facilities and improving access to products for EBT card holders and senior citizens. While tobacco remains one of the top six commodities, Quarles said hemp is gaining popularity. To date, approximately 1,000 farms in 99 of Kentucky\u2019s 120 counties are involved in the production of hemp. \u201cIt may not be a product for everyone, but it is something that thrives here, and can be grown on farms of any size,\u201d Quarles said. Overall, Quarles said agriculture in Kentucky remains stable with family farms accounting for the majority of farming operations. \u201cI have told the people in Washington, D.C. that Kentucky produces everything from apples to zucchinis,\u201d Quarles said. \u201cGoats, sheep and even alpacas are among the livestock we are raising now.\u201d If re-elected, Quarles said the international market for Kentucky agriculture products is the next horizon. Among the, as yet, untapped products that Kentucky may seek to export is timber. \u201cThere are about 12 million acres of timber across the state,\u201d Quarles said explaining that it is a matter of developing a plan to harvest the timber in a manner that doesn\u2019t exhaust the supply, and give it the opportunity to regrow. One area of responsibility for the Agriculture Commissioner that may not be widely known is the inspection of the 60,000 gas pumps across the state. The office is responsible for inspecting the pumps to ensure they are dispensing gas at the correct pricing. One aspect of that has been the increasing number of credit\/debit card skimmers that thieves are using in an effort steal personal information. \u201cWe are finding at least one skimmer a month,\u201d Quarles said. Quarles, who served three terms in the state legislature prior to his election as Commissioner of Agriculture in 2015, said he is not thinking about any other political offices. \u201cI\u2019m happy right where I&#8217;m at,\u201d Quarles said. \u201cFor a guy raised on a farm in Georgetown this is my dream job.\u201d Quarles is being challenged by Bill Polyniak in Tuesday\u2019s Republican Primary Election. The winner will face off in the November General Election against the winner of the Democratic Primary. Robert Conway and Joe Trigg are vying for the Democratic nomination."}