Kansas Department of Agriculture
| Kansas Department of Agriculture | |
|---|---|
 Great Seal of the State of Kansas | |
 | |
| Agency overview | |
| Headquarters |
109 SW 9th St. Topeka, Kansas |
| Employees | About 240 |
| Annual budget | $10 million |
| Agency executive | Dale Rodman, Secretary of Agriculture |
| Website | Kansas Department of Agriculture |
The Kansas Department of Agriculture is a department of the government of Kansas under the Governor of Kansas. It is responsible for providing services and expertise that promote and protect Kansas' food supply and natural resources while stimulating economic growth. The head of the Department is the Secretary of Agriculture, who is appointed by the Governor, with the approval of the Kansas Senate.
The current Secretary of Agriculture is Dale Rodman, who was appointed by Governor Sam Brownback in 2011. Former Secretaries of Agriculture have included Sam Brownback, Alfred Gray, Adrian Polansky, and Joshua Svaty.
History
The Kansas Department of Agriculture was the nation’s first department of agriculture. It traces back to 1857 when a group of farmers called an open meeting in Topeka to form the Kansas Agriculture Society. [1]
Records of the society are sparse. When a confederate named Quantrill raided the town, he burned the Society's records along with a large part of Lawrence. Kansas Historical Society In 1872, the Kansas Legislature created the State Board of Agriculture from the structure of the Agriculture Society. It became the grandfather of agricultural departments in all fifty states.
The board's early years were spent organizing a state fair and acting as an immigration agency to attract needed settlers to homestead in Kansas. Gradually, the state lost its image as a part of the "Great American Desert". Farms and towns sprang up on the fertile plains of the future wheat state. The Board of Agriculture through an annual report and various publications about Kansas served as a source of information and new techniques in farming.
Through the grasshopper invasion, droughts, blizzards, and through the invention of barbed wire, the development of combines and advances undreamed in 1872, the Kansas Department of Agriculture has served the producers and consumers of Kansas agricultural products.
Leadership
The Department is administered by the Secretary of Agriculture. Under Governor Sam Brownback, Dale Rodman is serving as the Secretary. Jackie McClaskey and Jim Riemann are Assistants to the Secretary.
State Board of Agriculture
The Kansas State Board of Agriculture serves as an advisory board to the Governor of Kansas and the Secretary of Agriculture. The Board is composed of nine members, appointed by the Governor to serve four year terms. One member is appointed from each of Kansas' four congressional districts, with the remaining five being appointed at-large. No two members can reside in the same county and no more than five members may be from the same political party. The Board is responsible for electing is own Chair and Vice Chair.
The Board assists the Governor and Secretary in the development of legislative priorities and Departmental rules and regulations, except those which relate solely to personnel matters of the Department. The Board, however, has no powers, duties or functions concerning the day-to-day operations of the Department.
As of 2011, the current members of the Board are as follows: District 1 - Tracy Brunner District 1 - Jay R. Garetson District 1 - Stephen J. Irsik, Jr. District 1 - Jerry C. McReynolds District 1 - Kenneth R. Palmgren District 2 - Thad G. Geiger District 2 - Ann M. Peuser District 3 - Roland L. Rhodes District 4 - Michael L. Springer
Divisions
- Secretary of Agriculture
- Food Safety and Consumer Protection Division - responsible for protecting the health and well-being of all consumers of agricultural products
- Retail Food Inspection Section
- Meat and Poultry Inspection Section
- Dairy Inspection Section
- Agricultural Commodities Assurance Section
- Weights and Measures Section
- Grain Warehouse Inspection Section
- Environmental Protection Division - responsible for protecting the health of the state's natural and cultivated plant resources, and the environment, through preventive actions and activities designed to ensure the safe and proper use of agricultural chemicals.
- Plant Protection and Weed Control Section
- Pesticide and Fertilizer Section
- Agricultural Laboratory Section
- Division of Water Resources - governs how the state's water resources are allocated and used and regulates through statute the construction of dams, levees and other changes to streams.
- Water Appropriation Program
- Water Structures Program
- Water Management Services Program
- Administrative Services and Support Division - responsible for coordinating the management functions of the Department
- Office of the Secretary
- Fiscal Section
- Personnel Section
- Legal Section
- Public Information Section
- Information Technology Section
- Food Safety and Consumer Protection Division - responsible for protecting the health and well-being of all consumers of agricultural products
References
- ↑ "Kansas Historical Society". Retrieved 2009-06-20.
External links
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