Council & Member News
Annual Meeting RecapThank you for attending our Annual Members' Meeting on February 13 at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville. We had a great crowd!
In addition to networking and hearing updates from our members, we approved changes to Kentucky Agricultural Council bylaws, adopted new member benefits packages, elected board members, and discussed what was being done to achieve tactics in the Strategic Roadmap working groups.
Following the meeting, the board elected officers for 2025:
Jennifer Elwell will continue under contract as Executive Secretary.
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If you want to add an event to our calendar, please email kyagcouncil@gmail.com. Member News
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New to the KAC Board of Directors is Laurie Mays, Senior Workforce Development Project Manager for the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Foundation. She replaced Mark Barker, who has served as a director since 2016. Brannon thanked him for his service and leadership from 2019 to 2021. Leopold Conservation Award Seeks Nominations
Nominations are now being accepted for the 2025 Kentucky Leopold Conservation Award®. The award honors farmers and forestland owners who go above and beyond in their management of soil health, water quality, and wildlife habitat on working land. Sand County Foundation and national sponsor American Farmland Trust present Leopold Conservation Awards to private landowners in 28 states. In Kentucky, the $10,000 award is presented with the Kentucky Agricultural Council and Kentucky Association of Conservation Districts. Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the award recognizes landowners who inspire others to consider conservation opportunities on their land. In his influential 1949 book, “A Sand County Almanac,” Leopold advocated for “a land ethic,” an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage. Award nominations may be submitted on behalf of a landowner, or landowners may nominate themselves. The nomination form can be found at www.sandcountyfoundation.org/ApplyLCA. The nomination deadline date is March 31, 2025. Nominations must be emailed to KentuckyLCA@sandcountyfoundation.org. Nominations are reviewed by an independent panel of agricultural and conservation leaders from Kentucky. Last year’s recipient was Mike Wilson from Anderson County. To view profiles on all past recipients, click here. |
People on the Move & Open Positions
Jennifer Elwell, Executive Director of the Kentucky Agriculture and Environment in the Classroom and Executive Secretary of the Kentucky Agricultural Council, has accepted a position with the University of Kentucky as an Agriculture Communications Specialist. She will continue to serve the KAC and is assisting TeachKyAg to find their next leader. Stay tuned for for the RFP and job announcements, which should be released this week.
Elwell is a '97 graduate of UK (Animal Science and Ag Communications). She worked as Communications Director of the KY Corn Growers and KY Small Grain Growers Associations for 17 years. In 2014, Elwell started Farm Scholar, LLC, to serve the needs of TeachKyAg and a larger pool of agriculture organization clients. Her passion is telling the story of Kentucky agriculture through print and digital media. Elwell is excited for this new chapter where she can give back to the institution that guided her career.
JOB POSTING: KyAEC Seeks Executive Director/Program Administrator
Bluegrass AgTech Development Corp is seeking an Executive Director. The Executive Director is responsible for leading the BADC’s operations aimed at cultivating a flourishing innovation ecosystem for entrepreneurs and startups within Kentucky's agtech sector. This position will boost Kentucky's economy by promo ng innovative businesses and job opportunities in agriculture. It aims to encourage both local and global citizens to build careers, grow businesses, and improve lives in Kentucky.
Learn more
The Kentucky Dairy Development Council is seeking a Southeast Region Dairy Consultant. The primary role of the Dairy Consultant (DC) will be to assist KDDC in developing and implementing programs such as but not limited to the Dairy Impact Program, Producer Outreach Program, collaborative programs, conferences, and tours. These programs are designed to meet KDDC’s mission to educate, promote, and represent dairy producers and foster an environment for growth of the Kentucky dairy industry. Each program specifically requires the DC to work directly with dairy producers at the farm level one on one in collaboration with other entities when necessary. The DC should make regular farm visits to producers in the Southeast Region.
The Kentucky Horticulture Council is hiring a Program and Operations Coordinator and an Agriculture Water Sampling Technician. KHC’s purpose is to support the state horticulture industry and be a resource for information and education for growers, business owners, and the public to promote a thriving industry. Learn more
Find more job and professional development opportunities on the Kentucky Agriculture Works Facebook page. Members may post job openings at www.kyagworks.org.
Agriculture Literacy & Education
Lieutenant Governor, Commissioners of Agriculture and Education announce Agriculture Education Week
(Feb. 5) In a bipartisan announcement, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell and Commissioner of Education Robbie Fletcher announced that March 17-21, 2025, will be a statewide Agriculture Education Week in Kentucky. Gov. Andy Beshear will sign a proclamation that week to officially mark this historic event.
“In today’s political climate, it’s not often you see a Democratic Lt. Governor, a Republican Agriculture Commissioner and the head of an independent entity like the Department of Education come together for this important cause,” Lt. Gov. Coleman said. “We have found common ground in our shared value of providing our children with opportunities that will allow all Kentuckians to thrive for generations to come. We do that by bringing two of the most important sectors - agriculture and education - together in a way that’s never been done before.”
Agriculture Education Week delivers an all-encompassing learning experience for students, equips educators with ready-to-use lessons and fosters community involvement to create hands-on learning opportunities on the diverse world of agriculture for students.
Member NewsKentucky AgTech Businesses May Apply for $100,000 Challenge Grant - Deadline March 1 The Bluegrass AgTech Development Corp is shaping the future of agriculture in Kentucky. They are building an innovation ecosystem for farmers, entrepreneurs and investors by expanding economic opportunities to ag-tech entrepreneurs and startups. Their Challenge Grant program is designed to attract ag-tech businesses to the commonwealth by offering incentive funding and valuable resources to help them develop and market their technologies to investors and customers. The program will help advance technologies, products or services that have great potential to impact food and agriculture in Kentucky and beyond. Learn more KCTCS Teams Up with Feeding Kentucky to Address Food Insecurity(Feb. 11) - The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) partnered with Feeding Kentucky at the eighth annual Serving Up Solutions on Thursday to address food insecurity in the state. KSU Graduate Student’s Pawpaw Research Earns Second Place at 2025 SRASHS Annual MeetingKentucky State University (KSU) graduate students and faculty showcased pawpaw research at the 2025 Southern Region American Society for Horticultural Science (SRASHS) annual meeting that took place January 31 to February 3, 2025, in Irving, Texas. Among them, graduate student, Mr. Subas Thapa Magar, earned second place in a thesis competition for his research titled, “Inventory of Pawpaw (Asmina triloba) Pollinators.”
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The Kentucky Agricultural Council is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
Administrative Address: PO Box 722, Shepherdsville, KY 40165