Whoa. What? Shelley Hughes is supporting this? A separate department for agriculture?? But isn’t she all about right-sizing and limiting government?
Yes, folks, I am, but this is not about big, overstepping government. It’s about providing more streamlined government to support the private sector under one roof instead of spread between multiple departments. It’s about deliberate and cabinet-level focus to allow the ag industry to attain its potential; it’s about keeping some of the more than $3 billion spent annually on food outside the state here; it’s about food independence and the ability to withstand supply chain disruptions.
If we want to truly increase food security in Alaska, it is time to have this conversation. This past week, as Chair of the Alaska Food Strategy Task Force, in our presentations before the House and Senate Resources Committees on our legislative recommendations, we started that conversation, rolling out our white paper “Why a Department of Agriculture Makes Sense for Alaska”. You can see the presentation of all our recommendations here and the white paper specifically about establishing a department here.
