Natural Resources Commissioner John Boyle said creating a cabinet-level agriculture department would force the state to focus on growing the agriculture sector on a long-term basis.
Lawmakers are looking closely at Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s plan to create a state Department of Agriculture.
To start, it would handle essentially the same functions as the current division: farm loans, land leases, marketing, scientific research and so on.to House and Senate committees Wednesday. He told lawmakers that DNR is a $173 million agency with a wide variety of responsibilities, everything from mining and oil and gas leasing to wildfire management and state parks.
“Right now, you've got a commissioner that loves ag, you've got a governor that loves ag, but in two years, that could completely change,” Boyle said. “Then ag might not have its voice, or might not have its champion as much anymore, and so this is really a way to leave that lasting legacy.
“How do I make the case to them and say, ‘This year, it is so important that we fund this new Department of Agriculture that we need to take $2.7 million away from what we could put toward education,’” he said.
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