LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Some of the farmers who organized since learning their grain elevator would close in Meade County said they’re considering filing a legal injunction to stop the January 31 close date.
WHAS11's political editor took some of their concerns to Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles.
“I think it's heartbreaking what these farmers are about to have to go through as this facility shuts down at the end of January," said Commissioner Quarles.
For the past few weeks, we've shown how farmers near Brandenburg, Kentucky are watching time run out on their riverport grain elevator. They recently learned it's closing to make way for the Nucor Steel factory's $1.3B investment.
It was a deal that was cut under the Matt Bevin administration, but farmers only learned of their misfortune in the past couple of months. Commissioner Quarles said he recently learned of their plight as well.
“My office was only recently made aware of this which, I think, was problematic," he said. “My teams have been down there several times. I will be going to Meade County as well to meet with the farmers. We're trying to work with the relationships we have right now behind the scenes to try to find a solution to this problem.”
Farmers feel that some in state government pulled the wool over their eyes when it came to the future of their grain elevator. When we asked Commissioner Quarles whether he felt the Kentucky Department of Agriculture was dealt with properly, he answered, “I find it concerning that my office wasn't informed about these decisions until after the fact. Now, that is water under the bridge. At this point, we are looking to find a way forward to help address the issues that Meade County farmers, and the farmers in the surrounding counties, will be facing in the coming years.
The issues include trucking their crops 40-90 miles further to market. Many have told us the increase in distance will erase any profit they made this year.
“My hope is that we can have a facility to replace the market that is about to be disrupted," he said. “And I don't know how or the specifics of how this situation has occurred, but at this point, we're looking at moving forward and finding a solution.”
Farmers share that hope but know it takes more than just a season after planting the seeds of hope for something like a grain elevator to sprout. They fear the wait will be long and costly and filled with more heartache.
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