Date: Fri 01-Nov-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

agriculture-Ferris

Full Text:

w/photo: State Ag Commissioner Takes A Broader View Of Agricultural Issues

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

When Shirley Ferris travels out of state, she makes it a point to stop at

dairy farms and talk to the farmers.

"I ask about the price of diesel fuel and feed, about how their operations

compare with those of dairy farmers in Connecticut," she said. "It's amazing

how much more expensive it is to run a dairy farm in Connecticut."

Knowing what concerns farmers in other states is important to Mrs Ferris, who

has been a Newtown dairy farmer since she married her husband, Charles, more

than 30 years ago. Currently completing her second year as the state's

commissioner of agriculture, Mrs Ferris recently was named to the board of

directors of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture. She

is president of NASDA's Northeast Region which includes the New England states

plus New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

"There are four regions in the country so the board of directors consists of

the four regional presidents and a slate of officers," she said. "I'm one of

only four women commissioners in the country - the others are from Illinois,

California and Kansas."

NASDA's official mission is to support and promote the American agriculture

industry - while protecting consumers and the environment - through the

development, implementation, and communication of sound public policy and

programs.

"In layman's terms, or at least mine, it is a group of commissioners,

secretaries and directors - states call us different things - who work within

the governmental structure to promote agriculture while protecting the

environment and consumers," Mrs Ferris said. "We do some of what the Farm

Bureau does. But while that organization works as volunter

farmer-to-government, NASDA can participate within the system."

New Strategic Plan

The commissioner said that NASDA has, within the past half-dozen years or so,

undergone some changes that moved it from "a good old boy operation to one

that has credibility, integrity and influence in developing agriculture policy

on a national level."

"NASDA adopted its new strategic plan in September - the organization is that

new in its current philosophy," Mrs Ferris said. "In the plan, NASDA will be

working closely with the Governors' Association."

"So you can see why I'm so happy to be a member of the national board of

directors at this juncture in the organization's life. I have the unparalleled

opportunity to exchange ideas with my fellow commissioners and to help shape

policy on the national level."

Mrs Ferris said the 1996 Farm Bill may be the first in the country's history

to encompass programs that are useful in the Northeast.

"Historically USDA programs are designed for the massive farms and ranches in

the Midwest and further west. This time it speaks to smaller businesses, the

kind most common in New England."

NASDA also provides a good exchange of ideas that can be used on the state and

local level. "It's a chance to see what other states are doing," Mrs Ferris

said. "Connecticut's agriculture department doesn't have the manpower that

other states have, so we have to be creative. We're looking to tap into

federal funds, grant programs, corporate funding - whatever might be

applicable to the kind of (agricultural) business we do in Connecticut:

farming close to our neighbors, farming in an area that lies in the lucrative

New York/Boston corridor, farming in an area where the cost of production is

higher than anywhere else in the country."

A Big Business

Commissioner Ferris said that 75 percent of the open land in Connecticut is

used by dairy farmers. If the land is swallowed by residential development,

there would be a major impact on the tourism industry and the quality of life

in the state, she said.

"Ninety-nine percent of the cash receipts generated by Connecticut agriculture

stay in the state," Mrs Ferris said. "Agriculture is a big business - it has a

$2.1 billion a year impact on the state's economy - it's viable and

profitable, not a dying industry."

In Connecticut, the agriculture department staff has been cut 50 percent in

the past six years and there have been four different commissioners in that

same period of time. Another 10 percent cutback has been ordered by the

governor in all state departments, including agriculture, in the 1997-99

biennial budget.

We're working hard to come up with some creative ways to cut so that we don't

impact our important programs," Mrs Ferris said. "Every expenditure is

scrutinized and evaluated. I pay my own expenses when I go out of state for

meetings like NASDA, something I'm sure other state's commissioners don't do."

Agriculture is viewed differently by different states, as reflected in how the

commissioners are selected and the tasks which they are assigned to do, she

said. One third of the commissioners are elected by the public, one third are

selected by some governmental group, and one-third are appointed by the

governor.

In some states the agriculture department has an expanded role. In Wisconsin,

it is the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection; Vermont

has the Department of Food, Agriculture and Markets; Mississippi, the

Department of Agriculture and Commerce. In Indiana, the lieutenant governor is

the commissioner of agriculture.

"You can see that states look at the work their ag department does

differently," she said. "It reflects, I guess, the role of agriculture in the

state - that is, how important agriculture is to the economics of that state.

The commissioner from Illinois is currently accompanying her governor on a

tour of Asia - looking at the ag export/import market there!"

Through her role in NASDA, Commissioner Ferris intends to promote the future

of Connecticut agriculture.

"We have a window of opportunity here that may not come our way again for a

long while. I am committed to making the most of it," she said.