WASDA update: State ag departments across the West address common issues during annual meeting

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) hosted its annual meeting Sept. 22-25 in Indianapolis, where commissioners, secretaries and directors of agriculture from all 50 states and four U.S. territories gathered to discuss the latest in the industry. 

Themed “Cultivating Common Ground,” the event’s agenda was jam-packed with committee and regional meetings, as well as informational sessions and guest speakers. 

On the first day, regional state departments of agriculture broke off to hold their own meetings. 

Discussions in the Western Association of State Departments of Agriculture (WASDA) meeting centered around the common issues of wildfire, water, drought, livestock, crops, food safety, trade, public lands and funding. 

WASDA is made up of state agriculture departments from Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming, as well as the American Samoa Government Department of Agriculture and the Guam Department of Agriculture.

Wildfire

This year posed a devastating year for wildfire activity across the West, with fires burning in many of WASDA’s member states.

“Unfortunately, it was a pretty serious fire year in Idaho,” said Idaho State Department of Agriculture Bureau Chief Laura Johnson, who noted the state lost more than half a million acres and suffered a lot of air quality issues. 

Oregon Department of Agriculture Director Lisa Charpilloz Hanson noted Oregon has also had a “tragic year in terms of wildfire,” with fires consuming over 1.1 million acres across the state. 

Hanson pointed out Oregon ranchers were hit especially hard, but it will take some time before they understand the actual amount of loss in terms of cattle, feed and infrastructure. 

While Hanson believes fires in Oregon started much earlier than usual, Wyoming Department of Agriculture Director Doug Miyamoto noted wildfire activity in Wyoming was relatively late. 

“We had a lot of wildfire pop up as well, and so far we are north of 600,000 acres burned,” Miyamoto said. “What is different about our fire season this year is it was relatively late. We had a lot of high wind and high temperatures, and we had a lot of residual native grass growth so it burned up very fast. Almost 85 percent of the acres lost were on deeded acres which is also unusual for us.”

He explained his biggest concern while recovering from fire damage is the labor and expense of replacing damaged fence. 

Water and drought

Another common issue impacting producers and ag industries across the West is drought and water. 

Washington Department of Agriculture Director Derek Sandison shared his home state was hit hard by drought this summer, particularly the Yakima Basin, which consists of rich and productive agricultural lands. 

“But, I am pleased to say we saw some of the mitigation measures we have put in place for many years finally start to pay off. I think our situation could have been much worse, had those measures not been in place,” he said. 

California Secretary of Agriculture Karen Ross also noted the nation’s westernmost state has been suffering drought conditions, and as an inherently dry state, Arizona Department of Agriculture Paul Brierley said his department “always has water on the brain.” 

Brierly explained Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has been looking into a new tool to help regulate groundwater in rural areas.

“This is obviously a great concern for our agriculture, which puts me in the middle of trying to come up with a workable solution to keep Arizona ag in production,” he stated. “They have come a long way, but there is still a lot more work to do.”  

“We are dealing with water issues as well, and the governor has released a 50-year water plan,” said New Mexico Department of Agriculture Director Jeff Witte. “Basically, we are planning for 25 percent less water.” 

He continued, “We have always been a dry state, but with the pressures of food security, we really have to pay attention and make sure we make agriculture viable with less water.” 

Livestock and crops

When it comes to livestock, many state departments have ongoing unease surrounding highly pathogenic avian influenza, especially in dairy cattle, and several voiced concern for a lack of federal inspectors in auction barns and meat processing plants. 

Witte also brought up the issue of the declining population of pollinators. 

Additionally, several states reported an update on crop production.

According to Johnson, Idaho is on track for a big potato crop, with exports to Mexico up nearly 50 percent. She noted, over the past year, Idaho has shipped over 100 million pounds of potatoes to the nation’s neighbor to the south. 

Sandison explained, for the past few years, the state of Washington has had an overproduction of apples, hops and wine grapes. This year, Washington had the opportunity to use their surplus wine grape supply to help producers in British Colombia, Canada who suffered prolonged sub-zero temps last winter which decimated their crop. 

In Oregon, Hanson is battling restrictions on canola production in the Willamette Valley, where the legislature has placed a cap on canola farming to 500 acres until Jan. 2, 2028. 

Food safety and trade

The issues of food safety and trade came up in a few state departments̕ updates. 

Brierly noted food safety remains a top concern in Yuma, Ariz. – a worldwide leader in ag production – and the state is implementing a rapid response program to help better understand crop health and disease.

Utah Commissioner of Agriculture and Food Craig Buttars shared Utah is working to improve human safety regarding raw milk, as the state has seen a few toddler deaths over the past two to three months.

On the trade front, Johnson noted Idaho recently opened a part-time trade office in Japan and is working on market access for fresh potatoes. 

Additionally, New Mexico State University recently returned from a trade mission in Indonesia, with a focus on dairy operations.

Public lands

Wyoming and Utah have struggled with public lands issues over the past year and are both in an ongoing lawsuit challenging the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule.

“The lawsuit was filed directly in the U.S. Supreme Court, and we are hoping for a positive outcome,” said Buttars. “Our argument states we can manage our own lands better than the federal government can, so we are dedicated and committed to fighting this fight.” 

Miyamoto noted Wyoming is embroiled in several other federal lands management policy concerns, including sage grouse management, areas of critical environmental concern and public lands grazing. 

“We also filed a protest on the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan, so all of these things are ongoing,” he concluded.

Keep an eye out for more from the NASDA Annual Meeting in future editions of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. 

Hannah Bugas is the managing editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.