Spell, Farmer Reelected
News Date November 07, 2007
Mississippi Agriculture Commissioner Lester Spell and Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer both won reelection Tuesday, November 6. Unofficial election results as of November 7 reported Richie Farmer at 64.0%. Results were not available for the Mississippi agriculture commissioner race at press time.
Richie Farmer was elected Kentucky's commissioner of agriculture in November 2003, and was sworn into office in January 2004. He was re-elected to a second four year term on November 6, 2007.
Farmer serves as president of the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture, an organization that represents farmers and other agricultural interests from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In this capacity, Commissioner Farmer has worked to promote the interests of producers, especially on the 2007 farm bill.
Born in Clay County, he is the second of Virginia and Richard Farmer's three children. Before taking office, Farmer worked as an investment advisor in Clay County. He lives in Frankfort with his wife Rebecca and their three sons, Trey, Thomas, and Tate. A 1992 graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Farmer earned a bachelor of science degree with a double major in agricultural economics and agribusiness management. He was also a standout player for the UK basketball Wildcats under Coach Rick Pitino.
Over the years, Farmer has given his time to such charitable organizations as the Boys and Girls Clubs, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Children's Miracle Network, American Cancer Society, and Kicks for Kids.
Lester Spell is a sixth-generation Mississippian whose family has farmed and been in business in the state since the early 1800s. In 1975, Spell became the first mayor of Richland, his hometown--a position he held until 1996 when he took office as commissioner of agriculture in January 1996. In November 1995, Spell was elected as the commissioner of agriculture and commerce and was reelected for a second term in 1999. In 2003, he was reelected again and is now serving his third term in office.
In 1996, he also became the chairman of Keep Mississippi Beautiful program, a non-profit organization dedicated to making Mississippi a more beautiful state for residents and visitors to enjoy. In its major project, the "Avenue of Magnolias," magnolias are planted at major highway entrances and interchanges in Mississippi. In 2006 alone, more than 900 trees were planted through this program, which is funded by private donations.
In 1999, Spell introduced the "Make Mine Mississippi" program to identify and promote items that are grown or made in the state. Today, there are 976 companies in this program. This is the only program in the state that identifies and promotes Mississippi products. He currently serves as chairman of the Mississippi Fair Commission and the Central Farmers Market Board. He serves on the boards of numerous agricultural and economic development organizations.
He is past president of the Mississippi Municipal League, Mississippi Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, the Rankin County Chamber of Commerce, and the Mississippi Veterinary Medical Association. Spell was selected as Mississippi Veterinarian of the Year in 1996, an award given by the Mississippi Veterinary Medical Association.
Spell and his wife, Sandra, had been married for twenty-four years when Sandra passed away in September 2003. Sandra was a former schoolteacher and was active in their family farm operation. Sandra's enthusiasm and outgoing personality were the inspiration for many landscape beautification projects in their community, on the Mississippi State Fairgrounds and at the Mississippi Agricultural Museum in Jackson. Spell and his two children, Jason and Katie, currently live in Richland, Mississippi. Jason graduated from Mississippi College in December 2005 and Katie is presently in her second year of nursing school at Hinds Community College. (Contact: Rick Kirchhoff)