Alabama’s Economic Future Tied to Agriculture
By John McMillan
Other than a trip to the grocery store or occasional visit
to a farmer’s market, many people seldom give a thought to the role agriculture
plays in our economy. All told, Alabama
agriculture generates $5 billion a year and is responsible for some 480,000
jobs, representing one-fifth of our work force.
What you may not know is Alabama’s Department of Agriculture and
Industries plays a vital role in protecting these jobs and the companies that employ
them. By law, our inspectors must protect the safety of our food and certify
the quality of a wide range of products before they are shipped to markets
across America
and the world.
Without timely inspections, Alabama products, many of them perishable,
miss their shipping deadlines. Perhaps there is nothing more important than the
safety of our food supply, a responsibility we take very seriously.
Farm prices are at an all-time high. Farmers have an
opportunity to actually earn a good profit after years of disappointing losses.
It’s ironic that our department’s fiscal problems could hurt farmers at a time
when so much is going their way.
When Governor Robert Bentley declared proration, the
Department of Agriculture & Industries was told we must take a $2 million
cut, representing 15% of our General Fund appropriation.
Anyone who has looked at our budget will tell you that this
will seriously impair our ability to fulfill our legal duty to protect the food
supply and serve the needs of agribusiness. Next year will be even worse as
another 30% of our General Fund dollars will be cut.
For consumers whose only encounter with Alabama agriculture is grocery shopping,
these cuts may seem irrelevant. But, when the safety of the food we buy is
threatened, the problem becomes very real. Compound this with a potential loss
of agribusiness jobs, and the situation has gone from one of passing interest
to crisis.
Anticipating proration, we recently announced the closing of
two Farmers Markets we own and operate in Montgomery.
Taxpayers will save nearly $200,000 a year as we quit subsidizing these
money-losing operations. As a result of the publicity from our closing the
markets, people came forward with plans to lease the markets and keep them
open.
Trimming our budget in other areas will not be as easy as we
must come up with $2 million in additional savings. Unfortunately, our
employees’ jobs are jeopardized and could well face layoffs, the extent of
which could be severe.
Working with a team of professionals in the Department of
Agriculture & Industries, I have examined our alternatives and come to the
conclusion that fulfilling our core mission will be significantly impacted by the
extent of this proration.
As an advocate of smaller, more efficient government, I have
taken a critical look at every aspect of our department’s budget to justify every
expenditure. You can be certain that we are working diligently to reduce waste
and improve the department’s efficiency.
Due to attrition and the ongoing state hiring freeze, we
have been short-staffed in many areas, including our regulatory divisions that
protect consumers and enable agribusinesses. Our goal is to help our workers to
become more productive, and have a number of solutions to achieve that.
We can and will adapt to these times of budget constraints.
In fact, our Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries may come out of
this fiscal crisis with a much stronger footing to serve the people and our
state’s agribusiness.
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John McMillan is Commissioner
of the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries. He can be contacted
at 334.240.7100, or John.McMillan@agi.alabama.gov.