1. How does your background qualify you for serving in this office?

Enlow (D) - I am running for Commissioner of Agriculture to protect Kentuckians’ ability to farm and to have quality lives in their rural communities.  I grew up working in a tobacco patch of a fifth-generation family farm in LaRue County knowing that the upbringing my parents worked to provide was highly dependent on international market prices for agriculture goods and on their ability to have off the farm income while they were growing their operation.  Our rural communities are at an inflection point where we need to invest in infrastructure and bring new opportunities for jobs to these communities; specifically, with the focus on supporting our agriculture industry.  Over the last few years, I have facilitated over $1B in capital investment for Kentucky through my work as an economic development consultant. Kentuckians need a Commissioner of Agriculture who knows how to represent them at the farm-gate and in the boardroom.

2.   If elected, how would you use this office to advance equity among farmers and farmworkers in Kentucky? How would you increase the numbers of farms owned by black farmers after decades of racially biased refusal of farm loans?     

Enlow (D)  - Kentucky has already experienced a dramatic loss of black farmers and national analysis of USDA data continues to find that Black Farmers receive a disproportionately low share of direct loans given to farmers.  On the state level, I want to review, evaluate and then make public the demographic characteristics of  KDA Development Funds and KY Ag Finance Corporation services to Kentucky farmers. We need to know what has been happening in order to identify strategies for remediating the situation. Finding real terms to identify this issue in Kentucky and then engaging those affected will lead to identifying strong possible solutions.

3. How would you protect the rights of migrant workers, such as those coming to Kentucky with H2A visas, and ensure that farmers are honoring the contracts they sign with these workers?   

Enlow (D)  - While the H2A program is not administered by the KDA, my administration will work to communicate the interests of these workers to the Labor Cabinet as part of a cross-collaboration effort to strengthen the position of this workforce in Kentucky. KDA needs the talent and resources to gather information from H2A visa workers about their working conditions and contract status so that personnel can move on verifiable complaints.  H2A are valuable participants in Kentucky's economy and without these H2A workers our agriculture economy would falter and never reach its potential.

4. Many farmers in southwestern Kentucky installed sizable solar energy systems, thanks in part to programs offered by the Tennessee Valley Authority. What will you do as Commissioner of Agriculture to enable more small farms across the Commonwealth to generate and benefit from renewable energy? 

Enlow (D)  - The best path to success is often outsourcing and creating paths to access existing programs.  Under my administration the KDA will create better collaboration to achieve industry goals; this includes creating partnerships with grant writing organizations to help small farmers apply for USDA REAP grants for solar and to work with various accounting firms to understand the benefits of cost segregation and federal tax credits to their operations.  I would encourage any operations considering this during the current election cycle to reach to me so that I can help them evaluate these opportunity for their operations; there’s a lot of value available to these small operations through the current program allocations and it would be a disservice for small farmers to fail to realize the benefits while waiting for a specific KDA program to meet these needs.

5. Given that many Kentuckians face challenges in accessing fresh foods.  As Commission of Agriculture, how would you support programs to help Kentucky’s small farms provide healthy and affordable products to more Kentuckians? What role will you play in addressing the many food deserts across Kentucky?

Enlow (D)  - Kentucky small farmers lack the scale and the ability to negotiate sustainable and bankable contracts across the state. I would encourage the development of a food exchange that connects the Kentucky Farms to Food Banks program with small producers and small producers to local restaurants across the state.  Additionally, I will pursue a small grants program to support regional food exchanges that builds upon the existing success of farmers market programing. Farmers deserve the opportunity to connect to local businesses to promote their products as much as local businesses deserve the opportunity to drive demand for Kentucky Farmers.