Kentucky’s Commissioner of Agriculture, James Comer, made a stop at Union County’s White Buck Winery on Monday, July 30. The visit was part of Comer’s 13 county tour that focused on agricultural diversity in western Kentucky.

“This is where the agriculture is”, Comer said about western Kentucky. He went on to explain that Union County is poised for the future. The counties diversity in coal agriculture and manufacturing industries make this area a “very important agricultural county,” Comer said.

Comer went on to say that his number one goal was to help the family farmer and offered up examples of how his office has been working for the agricultural community. Through programs like Kentucky Proud and by developing agritourism Comer seeks to secure a future for Kentucky farmers.

Kentucky Proud is a program out of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture that promotes food made in the state with a label that reads Kentucky Proud. Comer noted an addition to the program called Homegrown by Hero’s that provides Kentucky farmers who are also veterans with a special Kentucky Proud label.

Another effort to rebrand Kentucky agriculture is Udderly Kentucky. The program seeks to increase the amount of milk coming from Kentucky farms that is available in Kentucky stores. Comer said the program is currently expanding into western Kentucky.

In addition to rebranding efforts, the state has created Kentucky Wine Trails. The trails, similar to the Bourbon Trail, seek to connect tourists and wine lovers to local wineries. Local winery White Buck is a part of the network of wineries featured on the Kentucky Wine Trail.