Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Agriculture department seeks staff, equipment and capital for labs, hemp program and emergency response
Summary
The Department of Agriculture detailed FY 2026 requests including funding for hemp program staffing, seed‑testing equipment at the Tifton lab, emergency response capacity for HPAI, EV charger testing, additional personnel and vehicle replacements.
The Georgia Department of Agriculture told the state appropriations subcommittee it needs additional staff, equipment and capital investments to support ongoing emergency responses and new regulatory duties.
The commissioner (speaker identified generically in the transcript) recapped recent emergency responses, including a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak in Elbert County and said the department lifted the control area and poultry suspension after testing roughly 50,000 birds and completing the response. The commissioner credited state veterinary and lab staff, and said the agency is not letting its guard down on biosecurity.
On FY 2026 budget items, the department said most…
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
