Kay Ivey will be Alabama’s 54th governor, following Monday’s resignation of former governor Robert Bentley.  Alabama Farmers Federation said Ivey’s rural background and appreciation of farmers is good news for Alabama agriculture. 

“Gov. Ivey has always been a friend to farmers,” said AFF President Jimmy Parnell. “She understands the importance of agriculture and forestry to our state — how they shaped our state’s history and their importance to Alabama’s future.”

In 2015, Ivey received the Federation’s highest honor, the Service to Agriculture Award. 

“We look forward to working with Gov. Ivey as she continues her life’s work to make Alabama better,” Parnell said in a prepared statement. “She is a true public servant who brings to the governor’s office the knowledge, experience and determination necessary to move our state forward.”

A Wilcox County native and Auburn University graduate, Ivey had a successful career in the private sector as a banker and assistant hospital administrator. She also served the community and state as a high school teacher and reading clerk of the Alabama House of Representatives before seeking public office. 

Her service has included appointments by three governors to various state government positions, including assistant director of the Department of Commerce, formerly called the Alabama Development Office.

In 2002, Ivey became the first Republican-elected state treasurer since Reconstruction. She was re-elected in 2006. Ivey was elected lieutenant governor in 2010 and re-elected in 2014.

Bentley, a Republican, resigned April 10 as Alabama lawmakers started impeachment process with state Republican leadership saying he should leave office due to a sex scandal and its ensuing cover up.