Commissioner of
Agriculture
Walt Helmick
Democrat (Incumbent)
Buddy Guthrie
Libertarian
Kent Leonhardt
Republican
Tell us about the recent growth
in WV’s agriculture industry and
how you will help advocate
for continued growth.
Tell us about the recent growth
in WV’s agriculture industry and
how you will help advocate
for continued growth.
Tell us about the recent growth
in WV’s agriculture industry and
how you will help advocate
for conti nued growth.
The growth is there, but we can see a
significant amount of growth that is yet
untapped for the future. We’re consuming
$7.7 billion worth of food in West Virginia,
and we’re only growing $1 billion.
Sadly, the current situation is not as rosy
as the incumbent would like us to believe.
With that said, with proper investment,
we can grow agriculture in this state.
We have a plan for all of West Virginia,
including Southern West Virginia. They
have so many positives for building the
poultry, big beef and hog industries.
The south is going to be a significant
part of our agricultural diversification.
Agriculture is one of the last bastions
of economic production that directly
connects consumers and producers
and involves the old-fashioned reliance
on God’s good earth and bounty. With
hard work, individual liberty and oldfashioned self-reliance, the everyday
citizen can make a successful business in
farming and sustain his or her family and
community. I don’t want to lose that in our
pursuit of government-driven solutions
to government-induced problems.
Why did you decide to
run for commissioner?
Why did you decide to
run for commissioner?
I looked at my past and all the experience
I’ve garnered over the years, and I
asked myself a question: how can I
best help West Virginia with all this
experience? I didn’t just wake up one
morning and say, “I want to become
the commissioner of agriculture.”
It’s where the opportunity was.
In fall 2015, it seemed to me that politics
in this country as well as in our state had
broken down into warring factions of
conservative versus liberal, red versus
blue, Republican versus Democrat. As a
Libertarian, I wanted to see more choices
on the ballot. Then I realized I could be
the change I wanted to see. That’s when
I decided to run for commissioner.
What will be your number one
priority if elected in November?
Moving agriculture to where it is a
comparable industry to the surrounding
states and developing a culture that
will allow agriculture to be out front and
continue on the front page of West
Virginia. We intend to create a significant
amount of jobs in agriculture in West
Virginia—that’s our number one priority.
What will be your number one
priority if elected in November?
My number one priority will be to
represent the small farmer. It’s like that
saying, if you watch your pennies, your
dollars will take care of themselves. If we
watch out for the little guy in agriculture,
we’ll have agricultural success all
across the board in West Virginia.
I want to see incremental improvements in
the regulatory side of production agriculture
and private investments in building
infrastructure. I want to see the West
Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA)
providing leadership in marketing food
products, veterans learning agriculture
sciences and the WVDA collaborating
with others to provide opportunities
to build businesses in agriculture.
Why did you decide to
run for commissioner?
With my heart being in agriculture, the
farming community behind me and
knowing that we are losing ground in
agriculture, it was an easy decision.
What will be your number one
priority if elected in November?
I will work with other agencies to ensure
we have a coordinated approach to
food safety. We do not need multiple
agencies providing these services.
The West Virginia citizens, through
their government, do not have time or
finances to waste on special projects and
special staff. Limited financial resources
shall be directed toward food safety.
www.wvexecutive.com
summer 2016
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