State Representative Richard Heath of Mayfield has filed his paperwork to seek the Republican nomination for Agriculture commissioner.
Heath is a lifelong resident of Graves County and grew up on a small farm in the Clear Springs Community. One of nine children, he says his work ethic was forged by working on the family farm, raising pigs and corn.
He continued farming after graduating from Murray State University with a Bachelor of Science and a Masters in Agriculture. Heath continued farming for more than a decade, then left the farm to manage the Graves County Coop Store from the mid-1980s to 2000. In 2000, he purchased his brother’s barn building business, which he continues to operate.
Heath also chairs the House Agriculture Committee.
He says, “I know what farming looks like from the seat of a tractor, the back of a tobacco setter, and the inside of a stall. These life experiences have prepared me to serve the people of Kentucky as Commissioner of Agriculture and I’m ready to get to work for our Commonwealth.”
He’s currently opposed in the primary by former House Majority Leader Jonathan Shell.