Keynote speaker announced for WAVE AG Day

July 13, 2021
Richard Fordyce Richard Fordyce

WAVE AG Day planning is in full force and another piece to the planning is complete with the announcement of the keynote speaker. Former U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency Administrator Richard Fordyce will be the keynote on July 22 in Hickman.

Fordyce is currently the business growth director for Osborn Barr Paramore, an agriculture industry marketing company headquartered in St. Louis, Mo.

“We are excited and thrilled to have such a high-powered speaker for WAVE AG Day 2021,” says Phillip Bean, Carlisle County farmer and chairman of the WAVE AG committee. “His expertise in agriculture and the information he can share with our region will be welcomed by all.”

“I grew up in a county of only 8,500 people,” says Fordyce. “My high school class had 69 people. Maybe six or eight of us stayed around. So I understand WAVE AG’s mission to focus on retaining the youth and providing economic opportunities with the four river counties. I am very excited to be a part of the WAVE AG Day.”

Mr. Fordyce hopes to share his experience serving in Washington, DC at the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Trump Administration as well as what farmers and producers should be aware of in the current administration. “What the current administration may have farmers focused on is a current hot topic and something that we want to learn more about,” says Fordyce. Mr. Fordyce served as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency administrator from May 2018 to January 2021. In that role, he provided leadership for FSA and its mission to support agricultural production nationwide.

In addition to his DC connections and rural roots, Mr. Fordyce will likely share the importance of soil health, the current conversations on climate change and any other pressing topics around agriculture. Mr. Fordyce is a fourth-generation soybean, corn and beef cattle farmer from Missouri with deep understanding and passion for rural America.

WAVE AG Day will be held at the river front wall in Hickman July 22. The farmers appreciation breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m. with the program kicking off at 9 a.m. In addition to Richard Fordyce, Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, MSU Hutson School of Agriculture Tony Brannon and Kentucky Office of AG Policy Executive Director Brian Lacefield will also deliver remarks at the event. Everyone is welcome to attend this 4th annual agriculture event.