USDA Director of Rural Development stops in Barren County to thank farmers

GLASGOW, Ky. – In Barren County, the community came together to honor local farmers, with help from two special guests: Ag Commissioner Jonathan Shell and the USDA Director of Rural Development for Kentucky.

“We’re working closely with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture and Commissioner Jonathan Shell… and we want to be a partner in that and finding more ways to be intentional about working with Kentucky’s agriculture community,” Travis Burton says.

At Monday’s Thank a Farmer event set to give back to the community of farmers, Burton shared how the USDA plans to help communities like Barren County through his ABCs, which are affordable housing, business development and community infrastructure.

“We have grant loan programs that allow us to steer federal resources to our rural communities through those ABCs. So it’s really exciting to have a chance to be places like here in Barren County, meet with local leaders, meet with community stakeholders to figure out what they’re working on, what they want to accomplish for their communities and see how we can be a partner in that,” Burton says.

He wants to help with projects like the amphitheater in Park City, the ag complex in Cave City and the sports complex in Glasgow.

“We want to play a role in anything we can. Our programs all have different ways of working in rural communities and there’s sometimes population limitations… but if there’s a way for us to be helpful, we want to be helpful… and our team is going to be working closely with the judge to figure out how we can play a role in all those exciting things that this community is pursuing,” Burton says.

Those projects are thanks to the work Judge Executive Jamie Bewley Byrd has done in Barren County, which Burton is impressed with.

“There’s not a whole lot of places in this state where you could walk into the judge’s office and hear as many ideas and projects that are being worked on as you can here in Barren County. You’ve got a strong leader in your judge… I’m already looking up Airbnb’s to come back and stay in Barren County just because there’s so much going on,” he says.

But the main reason he’s here is to thank the farmers that put in the work daily, because they bring so much to their communities.

“It’s jobs… it’s money going back into the local economy, and for that we owe them so much gratitude. These are the people waking up before sunrise, these are the people that go out in the 100 degree weather or the 20 degree weather to make sure that we’re provided for and that we can enjoy a meal with our family and that we can have opporunities in rural America. So it’s just vital that we take time to say thank you. Couldn’t be more honored to be able to be here on behalf of President Trump and Secretary Rollins to do that here in Barren County,” Burton says.