Department of
Agriculture
At a Glance
BRUCE H. GRESCZYK, Acting Commissioner
Established - 1971
Statutory authority – CGS Sec. 22-1
Central office - 765 Asylum Avenue,
Hartford,
CT 06105
Average number of full-time employees - 66
Recurring operating expenses - $5,071,151
Capital purchases - $24,778
Organizational structure - Administrative Services, Regulation and Inspection,
Agricultural Development and Resource Preservation, Aquaculture, and
Connecticut Marketing Authority.
Mission
The mission of the Department of
Agriculture is to foster a healthy economic, environmental and social climate
for agriculture by developing, promoting and regulating agricultural
businesses; protecting agricultural and aquacultural resources; enforcing laws
pertaining to domestic animals; and promoting an understanding among the
state’s citizens of the diversity of Connecticut’s agriculture, its cultural
heritage and its contribution to the state’s economy.
Improvements/Achievements
2002-03
COMMISSIONER’S OFFICE
§
Continued construction at the Noank Aquaculture
Cooperative in Groton
§
Provided
$866,500 in grants to farmers through the Farm Enhancement Program
§
Entered
into a Memorandum of Understanding with Department of Correction for care and
feeding of large animals seized as evidence by this agency in cruelty cases at
the Gates Correctional Institution; constructed and administered a 20-stall
horse barn to be used for the temporary care of horses due to abuse and/or
neglect; animals cared for by inmates supervised by Department of Agriculture
personnel
§
Acted as
liaison between industry and other governmental agencies
BUREAU OF AQUACULTURE
§
Collected and analyzed 5,100 seawater samples
for fecal coliform bacteria; examined 116 phytoplankton tows for toxic algal
types; and collected shellfish meat samples to verify safety of shellfish at
sources of pollution as well as from market areas to develop background data
BUREAU OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND
RESOURCE PRESERVATION
§
Bond funds approved for the purchase of
development rights to five farms (465 acres); completed 106 site reviews of
proposed state and local projects for impact on prime and important farmland
soils
§
Developed five new farmers’ markets statewide
- Produced new “Farmers’ Market
Pick-Your-Own” and “Sugarhouse” brochures for distribution
BUREAU OF REGULATION AND INSPECTION
·
Responded
to a large-scale outbreak of Avian Influenza disease in poultry flocks of
approximately 4.5 million chickens
·
Participated
in a New England-wide Emergency Animal Disease Exercise in cooperation with the
Office of Emergency Management to implement the Incident Command System and
evaluate the state’s emergency response plans to a highly contagious Foot and
Mouth Disease outbreak
CONNECTICUT
MARKETING AUTHORITY
§
Expanded
diversity of products and services in the distribution center and farmers’
market