CHARLESTON, WV (WVNS)– West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Kent Leonhardt has been elected as Vice President of the Southern United States Trade Association.

According to the WV Department of Agriculture, Leonhardt will serve two terms for 2023 to 2024. He was elected on Monday, June 5, 2023, during the annual SUSTA meeting in Montgomery, Alabama.

SUSTA is a non-profit agricultural export trade development association that comprises 14 southern states and Puerto Rico. This association works with state agricultural agencies, like the WVDOA, to help provide resources for small businesses with international trade. SUSTA is well known and trusted in the international marketplace.

“I am thrilled to be elected Vice President of SUSTA… It is more important than ever for our small agricultural businesses to think big. In 2022, U.S. agriculture exports totaled $196 billion. That’s an 11% increase from the year before. Small business owners don’t just have to think “local” today. With the help of their state departments of agriculture and SUSTA, these businesses can market their products across the globe.”  

Kent Leonhardt, WV Commissioner of Agriculture

For more information on Leonhardt’s achievement, visit the WVDOA’s news release Commissioner Leonhardt Named Vice President of Susta.