States More Alike Than Not with Ag Issues
With your Southeast Regional Ag News, I’m Haylie Shipp.
Strange to think about it, but sometimes the head of the Department of Agriculture for a state like Alabama might think a little bit differently than that from Colorado, Oregon from Florida, Georgia from Texas. But there is one organization that works to establish common ground between all of them. It is the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA).
I talked to their Executive Director, Ted McKinney, this week…
“Our membership would be all the secretaries, commissioners, and directors of the state departments of ag. So every state, commonwealth, and four territories have someone that leads the agriculture departments and those would be our members and board members.”
You look at that group of people and there are some strong opinions. But he said that, when it comes down to agriculture, we are often more alike than not.
“It is remarkable, remarkable how aligned our parties are…both political parties are when it comes to ag issues generally and the states.”
Just a few weeks back, NASDA was one of the first groups to lay out their priorities for the 2023 Farm Bill. They include agriculture research, animal disease, conservation and climate resiliency, cyber security, food safety, hemp, invasive species, local food systems, specialty crop block grants, and trade promotion. For more details, visit www.NASDA.org.
