The Issues

Vision

As Commissioner of Agriculture for the State of West Virginia, I will work tirelessly to promote the agriculture industry in West Virginia while using the resources of the Department of Agriculture to safeguard West Virginia’s food supply, expand our economy, and work together with other industries and agencies to champion the rights of farmers and rural landowners in West Virginia. 

Maintaining a Safe and Affordable Food Supply

Few things are more important to West Virginians than a safe and affordable food supply.  As Commissioner of Agriculture, I will work with the Legislature to modernize and expand the food safety programs of the West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA).  I will work with other state agencies to develop more sophisticated laboratory facilities and share resources with other state agencies to reduce the costs to taxpayers.  Food safety is important to all of us, and I will work with our state’s grocery stores and restaurants to make sure that small business owners can provide local foods in our communities at the lowest possible cost to consumers.  I will develop stronger relationships between the WVDA and those partners throughout our State that can help us expand the number of farmers markets in our local communities, and I will actively promote the use of West Virginia grown agricultural products in our State’s restaurants, markets, and grocery stores.  The WVDA has an important role to play in ensuring that West Virginia has a safe and affordable food supply.  As Commissioner, maintaining a safe food supply will be a top priority.

Management

As a full-time farmer, I know how to manage resources.  As Commissioner, I will bring the knowledge of a farmer and the management skills of a businessman to the WVDA.  We will do more to collaborate with state agencies that, like the WVDA, have environmental management, health and safety, and economic development missions.  Small business owners know that duplication of activity simply wastes resources, and as Commissioner, I will look at duplication in that same way.  I will seek out ways to eliminate programs that the people of West Virginia no longer need WVDA to conduct, and I will identify ways to target our efforts to those programs and services that will produce the greatest impact for West Virginia. 

As Commissioner and Chairman of the West Virginia Conservation Committee, I will lead the effort to conserve West Virginia’s precious environmental resources while helping our farmers continue to produce food and fiber for West Virginia.  With a limited amount of resources available for conservation activities, we must not let politics guide our decisions on programs to protect our air, water, and soil.  As Commissioner, I will make sure we pursue conservation efforts based on science, not ideology or politics.

Economic Opportunity

West Virginians spend over a billion dollars on food each year.  As Commissioner, I will expand the WVDA’s programs for assisting farmers and small business owners who want to access more of that billion-dollar market by producing and selling fresh foods and value-added agricultural products right here in West Virginia.  I will work to make sure WVDA plays a role in our State’s overall economic development plan, and work with other state agencies to identify resources that farmers and agricultural producers can utilize to start or expand a food-related business in West Virginia. 

Standing Up For West Virginia Farmers and Rural Landowners

Farmers and rural landowners all across the nation are under assault by an overactive federal government, and West Virginia needs leadership that will stand up for the rights of our rural citizens.  As Commissioner, I will work with the Governor to stand up to the Obama Administration and the overactive Environmental Protection Agency.  As Commissioner, I will be agriculture’s voice and will stand alongside leaders from other industry groups to champion the rights of State’s to determine what environmental laws should govern our farms, homes, and businesses.  I will stand up against unnecessary regulations that penalize West Virginia farmers, and I will work with others to make sure West Virginia can continue to provide the energy required by the rest of nation.

A Farmer Serving Farmers

As a lifelong agriculturist and full-time farmer, I have dedicated my life to advancing West Virginia’s agriculture industry.  As Commissioner, I will bring a lifetime of experience in agriculture to the WVDA.  The Commissioner of Agriculture makes decisions every day that affect the economic welfare of West Virginia’s 20,000+ farmers, the health of our environment, and the safety of each and every West Virginian.  Only a farmer can understand agriculture in a way that will properly inform these decisions, and only a farmer can appreciate the impact these decisions have on small business owners in every county of West Virginia. 

Only a farmer can lead the WVDA through the challenges that are certain to confront our State in the coming years.  As a lifelong farmer, I understand the importance of having a farmer lead the WVDA, and I look forward to bringing my lifetime of experience in agriculture to the Commissioner’s office. 

The Way Forward

I have devoted a lifetime to serving agriculture in West Virginia.  As a county commissioner in West Virginia’s largest agricultural county, I have a deep appreciate for the overall impact this critical industry has on our local communities, our fifty-five counties, and the entire State of West Virginia.  As Commissioner of Agriculture, I will welcome input from every sector of West Virginia on how we work together to meet the food and fiber needs of all West Virginians while safeguarding our environment.  I will seek out opportunities to help strengthen ties between agriculture and other sectors of West Virginia’s economy.  The WVDA is uniquely positioned to advance the future of West Virginia, and I look forward to working with each of you to realize those possibilities.