Candidates for the office of the West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture will gather in Morgantown for a forum at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 22, in the Erickson Alumni Center on West Virginia University’s Evansdale Campus.

The forum is the last in a series of four sponsored by the West Virginia Farm Bureau and Farm Credit of the Virginias. It is being hosted by the WVU Collegiate Farm Bureau, a student organization in the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design.

The West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six elected state executive positions in the West Virginia state government. The commissioner works to improve the state’s agricultural industry and ensure the safety of all agricultural products sold within the state. Commissioners are elected to four-year terms, and are not restricted by term limits.

All candidates have been invited to participate in the forum. Five Democrat candidates will compete for their party’s nomination in the May 8 primary election. The Democrat primary victor will then vie with a Republican candidate for the office of Commissioner of Agriculture in the Nov. 6 general election.

Roger Hanshaw, assistant director of resources for the WVU Extension Service, will serve as moderator. After candidates introduce themselves, they will respond to questions developed by members of the Collegiate Farm Bureau. Audience members will have an opportunity to submit questions in writing for the candidates as well.

The forum is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Joan Harman of the West Virginia Farm Bureau at 1-800-398-4630×306 or joanh@wvfarm.org.

-WVU-

dw/03/21/12

CONTACT: Joan Harman, West Virginia Farm Bureau
800.398.4630×306, joanh@wvfarm.org

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