State Ag Department Is Doing Fine

State Ag Department Is Doing Fine. I’m Greg Martin with today’s Fruit Grower Report.

The 105^th Annual Washington Horticulture Associations Annual meeting started with an address from the state’s top ag leader, Dan Newhouse, Director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture. One of his main tasks has been to reconnect the producers and the public.

NEWHOUSE: Something that I’ve kind of adopted as one of my goals is in many ways trying to reconnect the public with our industry and that of agriculture. To me I think that is a very important part of my job in making sure that people understand our issues and many things that are priorities to us.

Newhouse says where once a lot of people were involved in ag, now those roles have reversed.

NEWHOUSE: No longer is 80% of the population in the United States or the State of Washington involved in agriculture; it’s more like 2% and declining. People all over this state really have a lack of understanding of our industry and so it’s incumbent I think about me and all of us in this room to make sure that we continue to educate people as to the importance of agriculture.

He says it is especially important to make our state’s legislator aware of where the ag industry stands so when they go to make policy, it will be good, informed policy decisions. Newhouse says as the Governor gets ready to release the new state budget, the Department of Ag looks pretty good.

That’s today’s Fruit Grower Report. I’m Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.