1/25/2011
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) will highlight its 100-year Centennial at the Agriculture and Conservation Day at the Legislature Thursday, January 27. The WVDA will feature displays and information highlighting its 100 years of service, along with numerous other educational displays and a “West Virginia Grown” public reception.
The event will start at 9 a.m. with the public reception taking place at 10:30 a.m.
“This is a very significant milestone for the Department and the citizens of the Mountain State,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass. “Although agriculture has undergone colossal changes over the past century, the mission of the Department has not changed substantially – to protect human and animal health and to promote the agricultural products of the state here and abroad.”
The West Virginia Conservation Agency will have informational booths from all its districts, as well as information on watershed programs, the Section 319 nonpoint source program and the Envirothon.
The WVDA grew out of the State Board of Agriculture, which the Legislature created in 1891. In 1911, the Legislature passed a bill to create the Department of Agriculture and the office of commissioner of agriculture. A year later, the Board of Agriculture disbanded.
The first commissioner, Howard E. Williams, was elected in 1912.
The commissioner “…shall be a practical farmer and learned in the science of agriculture, having made agriculture his chief business for a term of ten years immediately preceding his election to said office,” reads Chapter 35 of the West Virginia Code.
The office was given broad authority to “look after and devise means of advancing the agricultural interests of the state….”
In subsequent years, the Legislature expanded the WVDA’s responsibilities to include – among others – meat and poultry inspection, auctioneer licensing and apiary inspection programs.
Commissioner Douglass believes additional legislation is needed regarding agriculture.
“We need legislation that allows the Department to draw against a $1 million emergency fund. In agricultural emergencies, we must have basic logistics funding so we can move immediately,” said the Commissioner.
Contact Information
Gus R. Douglass
douglass@ag.state.wv.us