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Georgia agriculture chief seeks funds for inspections, software and USDA block grant distribution
Summary
Commissioner Tyler Harper told the appropriations subcommittee the Department of Agriculture needs more staff, updated software, and operating funds to manage licensing and emergency responses; he said the department is "ready" to distribute a $531,000,000 USDA block grant but is awaiting USDA finalization.
Commissioner Tyler Harper of the Georgia Department of Agriculture told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Economic Development that his agency needs additional resources to keep up with licensing, inspections and emergency response demands.
Harper said the department now oversees "22 different divisions" and "88,000 licensed entities," and that staff increases have not kept pace: "We've only increased our employment by about 12% in that same time period," he said, adding this produces an estimated 15% increase in workload per employee. He emphasized meat and food-safety inspection gaps, saying some federal cuts have reduced capacity…
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