Agriculture Commissioner Kent Leonhardt spoke to the Agriculture and Natural Resource Committee this morning.
He talked about how there are new sciences and technologies available. He said we must “protect the old, but look towards the new.” He wants to re-align government, not grow it to help bring new technologies into the state.
Leonhardt discussed the Veterans to Agriculture Program. He gave examples of how beneficial this program is to the veterans and how our state needs to do more for it. He said they are requesting a budget of $250,000 for the program.
He stressed the critical need for veterinarians in the state. Right now we only have one state veterinarian and he said we need three. He said we need a state veterinarian station in Charleston.
Leonhardt stated that education is the important to agriculture. He said the future of agriculture lies with our children in agriculture programs, such as FFA. He’s heard from people all over the state that funding for FFA needs to be increased.
He said he’d like to see STEM become STEAM- Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, and Mathematics. He’s heard many people want to make the “A” in STEAM mean Art, but he said Agriculture is Art. He said, there is “no reason Agriculture and Art can’t work closely together.” He gave examples of label creations and advertising.
The Commissioner also mentioned moving Forestry to the Department of Agriculture.
