No one really knows how much it would cost to create a state Department of Agriculture in Alaska, a legislative task force concluded last year, but it would be more than $20 million.
Rather than work with this estimate, the Dunleavy administration claimed the current ag division could be transformed into a department for only $2.7 million.
Now comes word from the Dunleavy administration of a budget miracle—the new department will not cost any more than the current division, about $7 million a year.
It has long been obvious that the Dunleavy administration does not have a coherent agriculture policy, going back to his 2019 vetoes and the layoffs of 20 employees.
It’s also obvious that the Legislature should reject the Dunleavy executive order creating a new ag department until there is a plan for a real Department of Agriculture, not a nearly empty shell.
The Legislature has a resolution pending to do that, SSCR 1.
As Alaska Public Media reported Feb. 14, the Dunleavy plan for a new ag department was to include 13 new positions for the ag department, to be added to the 32 full-time positions and 5 part-time positions to be moved from the Department of Natural Resources.
On Friday, there was a new plan to eliminate the 13 proposed positions and stick with the 37, as Dunleavy does not want to propose any way to pay for new positions.
Dunleavy is not serious about agriculture.
The existing Division of Agriculture should remain in place until or unless there is an honest budget showing what an expanded agricultural office would look like and what it would do.
As is his wont, Dunleavy has refused to take responsibility for the lack of a coherent strategy, offering a strawman argument instead:
“And if the Legislature feels that everything is fine, we can feed ourselves, we have nothing to worry about, if they forget about what happened during COVID or if they forget about the supply chain issues, we’re gonna put ourselves in a tough spot, I think,” he said about opponents of his executive order.
No one thinks everything is fine, that we can feed ourselves or that we have nothing to worry about. No one has forgotten about COVID or supply chain issues.
The issue is that Dunleavy has not produced a plan to do anything or pay for anything that needs to be done. All we have is a bumper crop of weasel words.
This sham is a fitting sequel to the imaginary Office of Food Security that Dunleavy established in the governor’s office during his 2022 reelection campaign.
The 2022 order creating the food office was larded up with platitudes, buzzwords and jargon and called for immediate action to figure out what needs to be done to grow more food in Alaska.
Standing in a green field for the state-funded video, posted below, which looked exactly like a campaign ad, Dunleavy made big promises and bold pledges, saying that state corporations and state agencies would work together with the University of Alaska, farmers, tribes, nonprofit groups, etc.
“The Office of Food Security will unify this effort in pursuit of short-term, mid-term and long-term goals that will build a resilient food supply system in Alaska once and for all,” Dunleavy said two-and-a-half years ago.
“Building secure food systems here in Alaska will also help diversify our economy and create new opportunities that take advantage of our abundance of clean air, water and land.”
“The Office of Food Security is but one step, but an important one in putting the full resources of the State of Alaska behind this effort. I’m looking forward to continuing the work we’ve already started and working with all Alaskans to turn this vision into reality,” he said.
The new ag department is shaping up to be similar to the imaginary Office of Food Security—all talk, no cattle.
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
