The 105th Kentucky State Fairis underway in Louisville.Governor Steve Beshear, Agriculture Commissioner Ritchie Farmer and University of Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari were among the speakers at the fair's traditional opening event, the annual commodities breakfast.Farmer says the recession has been tough on the agriculture industry.
"But I can tell you that Kentucky farmers are some of the most resilient, most innovative hard working people in the world, and I know that after it's all said and done that we're going to come out of this challenging time stronger than ever," Farmer said.Farmer added that the state's "Kentucky Proud" initiative that urges people to buy locally-produced food has grown in five years from a handful of members to about 1,500 this year.Calipari said UK fans should be patient with his team as it adapts to his system."And then each week you'll see that this offense and this style is an attacking style and it will keep people on their heels and keep us on our toes, and it will unleash players," he said.
Beshear and Farmer, a former UK basketball star, both said they're not worried about NCAA rules problems at Memphis, Calipari's previous employer, following him to Kentucky.The Kentucky State Fair continues through August 30.
