Introducing the people who keep the food supply safe, make sure consumers get what they pay for, and protect the public from invasive pests.
Everybody needs to eat. Agriculture remains the most important industry on the planet. Wonderlane CC BY 2.0
In the latter part of the nineteenth century, the settlers arriving in California sometimes brought with them invasive plants and hitchhiking pests that damaged crops and disrupted the fast-growing agriculture industry. This became so problematic that in 1881, the state legislature enacted laws establishing Boards of Horticultural Commissioners in every California county, which were primarily charged with protecting agriculture from invasive and destructive plants and pests.
This effort to protect what the state’s early leaders recognized as a profoundly valuable segment of the economy evolved into the current California Food and Agriculture Code, Under current law, each of California’s 58 counties has an Agricultural Commissioner, appointed by the Board of Supervisors, who serves a four-year term. The Agricultural Commissioner functions as the head of the departments in the county implementing local ag programs.
Harkening back to the state’s early efforts at creating a civilized economy, the Ag Commissioner almost always also serves as the Sealer of Weights and Measures—a job title that sounds like it might come with a top hat and cane.
With the formation of the State Department of Agriculture in 1921, the legislature established joint responsibilities for enforcing the California Food and Agriculture Code between the state Secretary of Agriculture and the county agricultural commissioners.
The mission of protecting the state agriculture economy, the environment and public health falls under several program categories:
The importance of this straightforward list cannot be overstated. In general, the state establishes regulations governing the use of pesticides and other chemicals, approves crops and seeds and sets inspection and certification requirements. The county agricultural commissioners are responsible for enforcing those regulations and carrying out the inspections and certifications.
Here in my home of Santa Cruz County, our agricultural commissioner oversees 27 people with an annual budget of $7.2 million. According to the Santa Cruz County 2023 Crop Report, the total value of farm and nursery crops, livestock, berries, vineyards and timber is a whopping $654.7 million. This, in one of the smallest counties in the state.
All of that agricultural activity keeps the commissioner and staff pretty busy identifying and eradicating pests, enforcing pesticide regulations, inspecting nurseries, and gathering and reporting on statistics.
Other tasks include pesticide application and safety training and the certification of farms at the local farmers markets that sell produce and other products directly to consumers.
Even San Francisco County has an agriculture commissioner. Their most recent crop report (from 2016) shows total agricultural output of $286,500 which is unsurprising given the almost totally urban nature of the county.
But they were still kept busy certifying and inspecting the almost two dozen farmers markets and the various produce stalls active in the city, and were active in intercepting exotic pests—including the Bigheaded Ant and Semi-slug (!)—from incoming shipments of agricultural goods.
In 57 of California’s 58 counties, the agriculture commissioner is also the Sealer of Weights and Measures. Their responsibilities, of course, include the inspection and certification of commercial weighing and measuring devices to protect consumers. These include scales used in markets, and devices that dispense products, such as gas pumps. (At five bucks a gallon, it would be easy for an unscrupulous station-owner to siphon a fair sum by shorting every customer a few fluid ounces.) People who service commercial weighing and measuring devices are licensed to ensure compliance with standards, and the Sealer of Weights and Measures also inspects packaged goods to ensure they contain the advertised quantity.
In some counties, the agriculture commissioner also oversees the mosquito vector control agency, which protects residents from the deadliest creature on earth.
Agriculture in all of its forms directly accounts for more than $50 billion annually in California. Approximately 1.4 million jobs statewide are supported by agriculture, including farm services, transportation, the manufacturing and sales of ag products, etc.. Agricultural commissioners/sealers of weights and measures play an important role in this enormous endeavor.
Long form articles which explain how something works, or provide context or background information about a current issue or topic.
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