On September 19, 2019, noted dignitaries and locals celebrated and cut the ribbon — officially opening the Grain and Forage Center of Excellence at the University of Kentucky Research and Education Center in Princeton.
In the moment, it was the crown jewel and achievement of Caldwell County and UK, which established the facility in 1925 and had only watched it germinate, grow and blossom into a bastion of study for livestock, crop yield, facility management, farm market, soil conservation and use…and so much more.
Monday afternoon, state Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles could only quietly survey the property alone — taking in the complete and utter destruction of the beautiful, wide-spreading property along KY Highway 91.
The campus is one of many that took the full-force brunt of Friday night’s devastating tornado, which continues to be termed as the most destructive and longest-running twister in American history.
Quarles didn’t have a lot of words for what he saw.
State vehicles lie upturned and torn to shreds. Long-standing buildings are folded and crumpled like wads of paper, and tossed up the hill — as the tornado continued to roll from Lamasco, and on to Dawson Springs.
Quarles said discussions are continuing with regional extension offices and insurance companies, with updated damage total changing minute-by-minute, and hour-by-hour.
The commissioner noted he began his tour in Princeton due to its agricultural loss, and was soon headed to Mayfield — where a flagship dealer for Hudson John Deere, a 6-million bushel grain bin and the Pilgrim’s Pride hatchery were among the tornado’s destructive path. On Tuesday, he’ll be making his way through the southern part of west Kentucky, where a second EF3 tornado did considerable damage in Christian, Todd, Logan and Warren counties.
While people all across west Kentucky are in need of typical supplies — water, food, shelter, clothing, blankets, etc. — Quarles noted that regional farmers should get in contact with local extension offices as soon as possible, in order to try and get farming equipment to quickly repair fence rows and other livestock fixtures.
The commissioner’s office will be considerably busy in the coming months, as damage assessments are completed.
Quarles didn’t speak specifically on rebuilding the UK facility, as that would likely come under the direction of school officials.