To Make A Better Department of Ag
By: Doug Busselman, Executive Vice President
From the outside, looking in, the current circumstances of the Nevada Department of Agriculture appears like a set of extremely big challenges to resolve. Surveys of employees seem to indicate that they aren’t pleased with the way things have been going – (which is really the same state of affairs that have been in place going back well before the current Director of Agriculture…or the Director before that…or the Director before that – perhaps you sense the trend?) At the same time the budgets for operations and carrying out the work (at least the portion coming from Nevada’s General Fund) have been going down in a very big way. Some would suggest that further reductions would wipe out whole sections of the current Department’s structure.
Doing away with the Directors’ office and the administrative group seems to be on the “to do list” of the incoming Governor -- at least according to leaked budget documents (which, if accurate) aim at doing away with the overhead that wouldn’t be necessary if the Department were a Division and located in another agency…
If the purpose of the reorganization of the Department of Agriculture was to plug the hole in the state’s budget – the Department could be totally eliminated and there wouldn’t be much change in the state’s budget condition. Likewise, as we saw the last time this approach was implemented, there won’t be much of anything accomplished in the form of greater government efficiency. Bigger bureaucracies don’t make for improved government responsiveness – just more channels that must be navigated to resolve issues or to realize opportunities.
Because of several experiences in working almost within the Department of Agriculture’s operations, I have had the chance to see some of the problems that do need attention and might benefit from a dose of private sector consideration. Some of the accounting and program tracking arrangements seem to miss the mark when it comes to determining what is being done and how much the doing is actually costing.
Also because of the track record I’ve had in working with the Department I recognize that not all aspects of being a government agency fit the model of a private sector enterprise (and probably shouldn’t be completely the objective to strive to accomplish).
Revamping of the Department of Agriculture is going to be necessary even if we are successful in keeping the Department a Department. Likewise, finding new ways of having a more effective Board of Agriculture with improved interaction of those being represented is also required.
Somehow, through some type of long-range development process, constituents served by the Department need to work cooperatively with the Board of Agriculture and the agency’s leadership to evaluate what are the essential and critical components that need to be enhanced and maintained. Possible adjustments need to also consider what should go away.
This idea of a complete and total evaluation was once proposed and had a tentative green light to be launched, however, then Governor, Jim Gibbons reconsidered and the plug got pulled.
It might not be the ideal time to be sorting through these kinds of things with a potential dissolving of the Department being contemplated in the 2011 Legislative Session, but figuring something out to provide a more sustainable operation that meets the needs of Nevada agricultural producers couldn’t be a bad thing to be working on.
From the outside, looking in, the current circumstances of the Nevada Department of Agriculture appears like a set of extremely big challenges to resolve. Surveys of employees seem to indicate that they aren’t pleased with the way things have been going – (which is really the same state of affairs that have been in place going back well before the current Director of Agriculture…or the Director before that…or the Director before that – perhaps you sense the trend?) At the same time the budgets for operations and carrying out the work (at least the portion coming from Nevada’s General Fund) have been going down in a very big way. Some would suggest that further reductions would wipe out whole sections of the current Department’s structure.
Doing away with the Directors’ office and the administrative group seems to be on the “to do list” of the incoming Governor -- at least according to leaked budget documents (which, if accurate) aim at doing away with the overhead that wouldn’t be necessary if the Department were a Division and located in another agency…
If the purpose of the reorganization of the Department of Agriculture was to plug the hole in the state’s budget – the Department could be totally eliminated and there wouldn’t be much change in the state’s budget condition. Likewise, as we saw the last time this approach was implemented, there won’t be much of anything accomplished in the form of greater government efficiency. Bigger bureaucracies don’t make for improved government responsiveness – just more channels that must be navigated to resolve issues or to realize opportunities.
Because of several experiences in working almost within the Department of Agriculture’s operations, I have had the chance to see some of the problems that do need attention and might benefit from a dose of private sector consideration. Some of the accounting and program tracking arrangements seem to miss the mark when it comes to determining what is being done and how much the doing is actually costing.
Also because of the track record I’ve had in working with the Department I recognize that not all aspects of being a government agency fit the model of a private sector enterprise (and probably shouldn’t be completely the objective to strive to accomplish).
Revamping of the Department of Agriculture is going to be necessary even if we are successful in keeping the Department a Department. Likewise, finding new ways of having a more effective Board of Agriculture with improved interaction of those being represented is also required.
Somehow, through some type of long-range development process, constituents served by the Department need to work cooperatively with the Board of Agriculture and the agency’s leadership to evaluate what are the essential and critical components that need to be enhanced and maintained. Possible adjustments need to also consider what should go away.
This idea of a complete and total evaluation was once proposed and had a tentative green light to be launched, however, then Governor, Jim Gibbons reconsidered and the plug got pulled.
It might not be the ideal time to be sorting through these kinds of things with a potential dissolving of the Department being contemplated in the 2011 Legislative Session, but figuring something out to provide a more sustainable operation that meets the needs of Nevada agricultural producers couldn’t be a bad thing to be working on.
Posted by Doug Busselman at 1/4/2011 9:02 AM 
Categories: Agriculture
Tags: Nevada Department of Agriculture
Categories: Agriculture
Tags: Nevada Department of Agriculture
We are pleased to know the Farm Bureau is on top of this. We've heard the current Director may be dismissed due to personnel complaints within the offices. We don't believe this issue is so different from other Divisions or Departments within the State Government. It appears to us dysfunction is rampant, and regardless of who heads up the Department little or nothing changes. This department or division has to be controlled by knowledgeable ranchers and farmers or our livelihood will be lost forever. I am hopeful Governor Sandoval will make the right decision on the future of this Department. It appears the office staffers in Carson City are a greater problem than the directors are, but getting rid of them is not as easy as hiring a new director. They would probably be doing Tony Lesperance a personal favor if they replaced him, but they would, hopefully, have someone equally qualified in hand.
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Why is there unhappiness among the troops within the Dept of Ag? Is it due to the stress of not knowing if you'll have a job tomorrow? Welcome to the real world. Nothing is sure except death and taxes. Government work is no longer the safe haven it once was.
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