Department+of+Agriculture

toc The Wyoming Department of Agriculture’s mission is to assist the citizens of Wyoming to live safe and healthy lives, promote and preserve our agricultural community, be responsible stewards of our natural resources, and achieve integrity in the market place. The WDA has divisions, including Administration, Analytical Services Laboratory, Consumer Health Services, Natural Resources, State Fair, and Technical Services (W.S. 11-2-101 through W.S. 11-2-206) //(2015 State Directory)// The commissioner is the secretary of the State Board of Agriculture; it is his duty to encourage the promotion and proper development of agriculture in the State in all its branches; to gather specimens, foster exhibitions, and make such reports as shall be to the benefit of agricultural institutions within the State; also has general supervision and control of the Wyoming State Fair and the offices of dairy, food and oil division; is required to cooperate with the agriculture department of other states and with the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States. The commissioner is required to make a biennial report on or before the first day of November immediately preceding the meeting of the State legislature.
 * Department of Agriculture **

= History =

The Seventeenth State Legislature, 1923, created the State Department of Agriculture, established it under the management and control of a Board of Agriculture, this board acting through a public officer known as the State Commissioner of Agriculture. The Board of Agriculture is composed of seven members consisting of the governor, the director of experimental farms, and five members appointed by the governor, with the consent of the senate, for a term of four years each. The governor and director of experimental farms are ex officio members; the commissioner of agriculture is appointed by the board for a term of four years. This Act abolished two State departments; the Dairy, Food and Oil Commission. which was created and organized in 1905, and the Slate Board of Immigration, and Commissioner of Immigration, created and organized 1909, and provided for all the powers, duties and records of said departments to be transferred to the State Department of Agriculture. The Wyoming State Fair, created by the 1905 State Legislature, placed under the control of the State Board of Charities and Reform by the 1919 State Legislature, was, by the 1923 State Legislature, transferred to the State Department of Agriculture. During the 1990 reorganization of the state executive branch, the Department of Natural Resources was combined with the Department of Agriculture. The department also includes the State Land Office and Farm Loan Board.

=Divisions=

Agriculture and Natural Resource Mediation Board
The Agriculture and Natural Resource Mediation Board was created by the 1987 Legislature to provide mediation services for disputes between farmers and ranchers and their creditors (W.S. 11-41-101). The Board’s size and duties were expanded by the 1998 Legislature to provide mediation for a variety of agricultural and natural resource issues including grazing on public lands, water conflicts, trespass disputes and more. The Board also partners with other entities to provide training in mediation and other alternative dispute resolution processes. More information about the Board and the Mediation Program can be found on their website. //(2015 State Directory)//

Board of Agriculture
The Board of Agriculture represents Wyoming’s agricultural interests in an advisory capacity to the Director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture and strives to enhance communication among a variety of public and private entities on state and regional agricultural issues. The Board consists of eleven voting members with six-year terms appointed by the Governor with confirmation by the State Senate. Seven members represent districts pursuant to W.S. 11-2-102 with no more than four members from the same political party. Four additional members represent agriculture youth (between the ages of 18 and 30) appointed from each of four geographic quadrants of the state. Board membership also includes two ex officio nonvoting members: the Governor and the Dean of the University of Wyoming College of Agriculture and Natural Resources or designee //(2015 State Directory)//

Animal Damage Management Board
The Animal Damage Management Board works together with the Department of Agriculture. Contact information is Smith Building 2219 Carey Avenue Cheyenne 82002-0100 Phone (307) 777-6781, Fax (307) 777-6593 Website: [|wyadmb.com] (2015 State Directory)

The Board of Certification Environmental Pesticide Control Act of 1973
The Board is responsible for issuing regulations pursuant to the Environmental Pesticide Control Act of 1973. The Board consists of the Director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture, a member of the Wyoming Weed and Pest Council and a University of Wyoming weed or pest specialist to be appointed by the Governor (W.S. 11-5-106). Contact Information: Smith Building 2219 Carey Avenue Wyoming Department of Agriculture Cheyenne 82002-0100 Phone (307) 777-7324, Fax (307) 777-6593 Website: [|agriculture.wy.gov] (2015 State Directory) .

=Commissioner of Agriculture=
 * ~ Name ||~  ||~ Start Date ||~   ||~ End Date ||
 * A.D. Faville ||  || 1923 ||   || 1928 ||
 * I.T. Oldroyd ||  || 19-28-1935 ||   ||   ||
 * Arlington Gardner (Acting) ||  || 1935 ||   || 1939 ||
 * Ralph H. McFarland ||  || 1939 ||   || 1943 ||
 * Ercel Ward ||  || 1943 ||   ||   ||
 * Ercel Ward ||  || 1943 ||   || 1947 ||
 * A.D. Faville ||  || 1947 ||   || 1947 ||
 * George B. Harston (Acting) ||  || 1947 ||   || 1949 ||
 * Adolph S. Hamm ||  || 1949 ||   || 1951 ||
 * William L. Chapman ||  || 1951 ||   || 1959 ||
 * William T. Kirk ||  || 1959 ||   || 1963 ||
 * O. Henry Engendorff ||  || 1963 ||   || 1965 ||
 * Glenn “Jack Hertzler ||  || 1965 ||   ||   ||
 * Larry Bourret ||  || 1980 ||   ||   ||
 * John Orton ||  || 1982 ||   || 1986 ||
 * Donald K Rolston ||  || 1987 ||   || 1994 ||
 * Ron Micheli ||  || 1995 ||   || 2002 ||
 * John Etchepare ||  || 2003 ||   || 2010 ||
 * Jason Fearneyhough ||  || 2011 ||   || 2013 ||

=Additional Resources=
 * Wyoming Department of Agriculture website (accessed September 2015)