Agriculture Commissioner Douglass says challenges remain

By Brian Farkas

CHARLESTON — If you ask the longest serving state agriculture commissioner in the nation why he wants another four years in office, 81-year-old Gus Douglass will tell you because there are still challenges out there.

He’ll then tick off a list of items including expanding and promoting West Virginia-grown produce, renaming the agency to reflect its modern mission and seeking $7 million from the Legislature to build a state-of-the-art laboratory near Charleston for food and water testing.

“I want to make certain the knowledge and experience that I have will be in a package that will persevere,” says Douglass, who started in the Department of Agriculture in 1957 as an assistant commissioner.

Douglass was elected agriculture commissioner six times between 1964 and 1984 and won four more terms since 1992. He was out of office for four years after running an unsuccessful campaign for governor in 1988.

Douglass defeated Wayne Casto in the May Democratic primary gaining 62 percent of the vote. He faces Republican J. Michael Teets on Nov. 4. Teets has received a $1,000 contribution from the West Virginia Farm Bureau’s political action committee.

Although Douglass says he has met Teets, he doesn’t know much about the Hardy County farmer. And given his work over the past 50 years on agriculture issues, Douglass says he’s disappointed not to receive the Farm PAC’s endorsement. But, he doesn’t think it will hurt his re-election efforts.

“The beauty of it is when you look at vote totals, those farm folk don’t follow the leadership of the state farm bureau,” he says. “I collect a considerable farm vote when I’m elected.” And those farmers tend to be Republicans, he adds.

Douglass acknowledges he hasn’t done much advertising in this campaign, saying he is running on his record.

That record includes creating the agency’s meat inspection, food safety and animal health programs. More recently, he’s pushed technology and security measures such as a mobile lab able to identify dangerous viruses in hours rather than weeks.

Latest campaign finance filings show since the May primary Douglass has spent $8,740 on his campaign. During the period, he raised $3,250 and loaned his campaign another $3,710. He had $3,840 in the bank.

By comparison, Teets has spent $132,880. During the period Teets received $20,220 in cash contributions and loaned his campaign $115,000. After expenses, he had just $3,589 left.

“Most people come to me and say I don’t have anything to worry about,” Douglass said. Concerning the amount of money Teets is putting into the race, Douglass considers it a compliment to his record and “just shows I have developed something attractive and people want it.”

For a state that is more known for its coal than its crops, Douglass believes West Virginia has a chance to cash in on the “buy local” movement that is growing as consumers become more fearful about food safety.

“They want local produce,” Douglass says. “They have more confidence in it.”

To meet the need, Douglass is proposing a system of year-round farmers markets to compliment the five existing year-round markets. He plans to write to mayors of various cities around the state to sell them on the idea.

Residents can now purchase up to 1,000 products that are produced in West Virginia, he said.

He also says the state needs to focus on expanding its nurseries and greenhouses.

“If we don’t produce it here, we’re going to see more foreign produce in the marketplace,” he says. “Many of these countries don’t practice sanitation or the food handling that we practice.”

The increased interest in food safety, plus his agency’s growing water quality concerns have convinced Douglass that his agency needs to be reorganized and renamed.

“People still think that all I do here is farming,” he says. “About half of our work is other than farming. I would like to change the name of the department to the Department of Agriculture and Food Safety.

“Also homeland security has grown to such proportions it should probably become a division of the department,” he said.

But farming is what the agency is known for and Douglass says the latest agriculture census estimates show that the number of farms in the state has “stabilized” at 21,400. The next U.S. Department of Agriculture five-year census won’t be released until February, but the 2002 census showed West Virginia leading the nation in the number of family-owned farms.

Both Douglass and Teets have family farms. “My son doesn’t let me sit down much,” Douglass says.

Douglass’ son operates a 540-acre beef and hay farm in Mason County, and the older Douglass has seen his son juggle rising fuel and fertilizer costs.

Helping farmers cope with increased costs by finding more markets for their products is a challenge, but then it’s just one of the challenges Douglass sees in the future.

“I’ve got so many priorities here,” he says. “I have one of the most challenging jobs in government. There is no doubt about it.”