Wyoming Department of Agriculture details federal policy work, pesticide rule changes and meat-processing shifts
August 28, 2025 | Agriculture, State and Public Lands & Water Resources, Joint & Standing, Committees, Legislative, Wyoming
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Doug Miyamoto, with the Wyoming Department of Agriculture, told the Joint Agriculture Committee on Aug. 28 that the department has focused in recent months on federal natural-resource planning and rulemaking to protect grazing access on federal lands and to shape federal pesticide and endangered-species requirements.
"At the end of the day, the simplest way to put it is we have a policy of no net loss of federal AUMs," Miyamoto said, using the agency's shorthand for animal-unit months of grazing. He told the committee the department has been active as a cooperating agency on forest and resource management plans and has pursued Good Neighbor Authority agreements with the U.S. Forest Service to maintain grazing and rangeland monitoring work on federal allotments.
Miyamoto said the department also runs the state's pesticide certification and training program and has secured federal sign‑off on Wyoming's plan. "We have primacy for for pesticide certification training in the state of Wyoming. It's a program that we can continue to run," he said, adding the state has accepted responsibility for implementing updated federal certification standards adopted by EPA starting in 2017.
He warned legislators that an EPA court-ordered step to protect endangered species is changing pesticide label instructions from regional to field-level considerations and will require applicators to document a set of conservation practices. "It goes all the way down to a field level for a farmer," he said, describing a point-based approach in which buffers, conservation practices and field characteristics must be documented and will determine whether a pesticide application is allowed.
Chris Wickman, manager of the Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources and Policy Division, described the state role in sage-grouse planning and adaptive management. "It does seem like we're in a a a dust spiral of planning for for sage grouse," Wickman told the committee, and said a new BLM record of decision for the 2022–24 plan was expected in the fall or winter and that Wyoming is pressing for a durable plan that includes adaptive management arrangements the state and federal agencies agreed to.
On food and processing issues, Miyamoto reviewed state meat and poultry inspection developments. He said the state issued its first grant for a custom-exempt poultry inspection in Cheyenne this year, and described custom exemption as a lower‑inspection model intended to allow producers to maintain custody of animals and use processors for personal use; it does not permit resale outside the statutory limits. He also told the committee Wyoming has added a cloth-swab method for pathogen sampling of carcasses to ease testing logistics for processors.
Committee members asked a range of practical questions: whether retail facilities can process both wild game and commercial beef on the same equipment (Miyamoto said equipment can be shared but must be cleaned between species), and whether state-inspected product can be sold at in‑state farmers' markets (Miyamoto said state inspection allows in‑state sales but not interstate sales without USDA inspection). Miyamoto said the number of USDA‑inspected facilities in Wyoming has grown in recent years and that the state now has a mix of federal and state inspected plants.
The department also described expanded outreach for pesticide applicator training, fumigant endorsements and an anticipated need to help farmers document conservation practices required under endangered‑species-focused label restrictions. Miyamoto said the technical services division is monitoring increased inbound samples to its lab tied to EPA policies on lead and copper in public water systems and has seen an uptick in requests for groundwater sampling kits and analytical work.
The Department of Agriculture presentations and the committee's follow-up questions highlighted tensions between federal rule changes, the state's role as the implementation partner, and the department's efforts to give producers technical assistance and training.
Miyamoto and Wickman said the department will continue to coordinate with the University of Wyoming Extension, federal agencies and local partners to provide outreach and to preserve grazing access on federal lands.
"At the end of the day, the simplest way to put it is we have a policy of no net loss of federal AUMs," Miyamoto said, using the agency's shorthand for animal-unit months of grazing. He told the committee the department has been active as a cooperating agency on forest and resource management plans and has pursued Good Neighbor Authority agreements with the U.S. Forest Service to maintain grazing and rangeland monitoring work on federal allotments.
Miyamoto said the department also runs the state's pesticide certification and training program and has secured federal sign‑off on Wyoming's plan. "We have primacy for for pesticide certification training in the state of Wyoming. It's a program that we can continue to run," he said, adding the state has accepted responsibility for implementing updated federal certification standards adopted by EPA starting in 2017.
He warned legislators that an EPA court-ordered step to protect endangered species is changing pesticide label instructions from regional to field-level considerations and will require applicators to document a set of conservation practices. "It goes all the way down to a field level for a farmer," he said, describing a point-based approach in which buffers, conservation practices and field characteristics must be documented and will determine whether a pesticide application is allowed.
Chris Wickman, manager of the Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources and Policy Division, described the state role in sage-grouse planning and adaptive management. "It does seem like we're in a a a dust spiral of planning for for sage grouse," Wickman told the committee, and said a new BLM record of decision for the 2022–24 plan was expected in the fall or winter and that Wyoming is pressing for a durable plan that includes adaptive management arrangements the state and federal agencies agreed to.
On food and processing issues, Miyamoto reviewed state meat and poultry inspection developments. He said the state issued its first grant for a custom-exempt poultry inspection in Cheyenne this year, and described custom exemption as a lower‑inspection model intended to allow producers to maintain custody of animals and use processors for personal use; it does not permit resale outside the statutory limits. He also told the committee Wyoming has added a cloth-swab method for pathogen sampling of carcasses to ease testing logistics for processors.
Committee members asked a range of practical questions: whether retail facilities can process both wild game and commercial beef on the same equipment (Miyamoto said equipment can be shared but must be cleaned between species), and whether state-inspected product can be sold at in‑state farmers' markets (Miyamoto said state inspection allows in‑state sales but not interstate sales without USDA inspection). Miyamoto said the number of USDA‑inspected facilities in Wyoming has grown in recent years and that the state now has a mix of federal and state inspected plants.
The department also described expanded outreach for pesticide applicator training, fumigant endorsements and an anticipated need to help farmers document conservation practices required under endangered‑species-focused label restrictions. Miyamoto said the technical services division is monitoring increased inbound samples to its lab tied to EPA policies on lead and copper in public water systems and has seen an uptick in requests for groundwater sampling kits and analytical work.
The Department of Agriculture presentations and the committee's follow-up questions highlighted tensions between federal rule changes, the state's role as the implementation partner, and the department's efforts to give producers technical assistance and training.
Miyamoto and Wickman said the department will continue to coordinate with the University of Wyoming Extension, federal agencies and local partners to provide outreach and to preserve grazing access on federal lands.
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