Newly Appointed WSDA Director

Newly Appointed WSDA Director

I’m Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

Bud Hover, former Okanogan County Commissioner, co-owner and manager of Sunny M Ranch in Winthrop, and current Chairman of the state Salmon Recovery Board, is busy becoming acclimated to being the newly appointed Director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture, but he took some time to chat with us about what some of the first things he’ll be addressing as Ag Director might be.

HOVER: Well, obviously immigration is big, nationally and from the standpoint of our state, and making sure that we have a labor force that is capable of providing what we need in agriculture. There are issues related to agriculture in critical areas, particularly in the Skagit area. My goal is to get in and get a good feel for what’s going on in the organization - making sure that management of the organization itself is going well, and then beginning to take a look at some of those programs and what not. So, I’ve got a lot of information to absorb yet.

Hover has high praise for his predecessor Dan Newhouse.

HOVER: Dan is just a great guy, and he has been very gracious to me. Dan has done a good job with the organization and I want to build on the successes that they have had, and continue to do everything I can to expand agriculture in any way that I can.

Governor Inslee also spoke highly of outgoing director Newhouse, stating that Newhouse is held in high regard for his adept leadership, and that he should be commended for guiding the department and the industry through some rough and challenging times over the last four years.

I’m Lacy Gray and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Ag Information Network.