Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
State agriculture director outlines programs, pest threats and export markets amid farm losses
Summary
Washington State Department of Agriculture Director Derek Sandison summarized agency responsibilities, the state’s crop profile and active programs to protect and promote farm viability, and described pest and disease threats and export market dependencies.
Derek Sandison, director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture, told the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee that the department enforces phytosanitary inspections, implements the Food Safety Modernization Act at the state level, manages pesticide and fertilizer registration, and conducts plant and animal disease control. He said the department also supports marketing and food access programs.
Sandison summarized key state agriculture statistics from the 2022 Census of Agriculture: 32,076 farms in Washington, down from about 35,700 in 2017. He said 82% of farms are…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
