Department of Agriculture

The Ventura County Agricultural Commissioner’s office is not perfect. Who is? There are some needed changes and improvements that are being addressed.

The ag department’s job is to promote and regulate agriculture. It is also our responsibility to protect the consumer and general public by enforcing federal, state and local laws and ordinances. We are an extremely small department to regulate the 11th-ranking agricultural county in the state.

Many newspaper articles with an agenda have been written containing extremely slanted, misleading or simply incorrect statements. Most of the accusations can be refuted. How much credibility can you give to an article that says farmers spray methyl bromide? What kind of homework did they do?

The ag department has a multifaceted job. We do many things beside pesticide enforcement. Let me name a few. It is our duty to protect the consumer by protecting fruits, eggs, seeds and vegetables for quality all the way from the field to the store. To keep out unwanted pests, we check incoming agricultural shipments on many fronts, from FedEx to the port. We inspect hundreds of nurseries for disease, insects and quality. We monitor farmers markets. We run trap lines to intercept unwanted pests such as the medfly, Japanese beetle, gypsy moth and many other devastating insects.

All possibly pesticide-related illnesses are investigated by our department. We also check structural pest-control operators, including those who fumigate residences. As you can see, we are very busy.

How can the ag commissioner’s office be improved? Let me offer a suggestion. Give it the tools and personnel needed to do its job. It would benefit the ag industry, the consumer, the economy and each member of the public.

GAYLAND C. HAGY

Supervising Agricultural Biologist

Ventura County Agricultural

Commissioner’s Office

Camarillo