GA Dept of Ag Regains Law Enforcement Status and USDA Confirms Torres Small
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Udpate.
**On June 26, Georgia Ag Commissioner Tyler Harper announced the Georgia Department of Agriculture has successfully REGAINED its status as a law enforcement agency.
www.gfb.org reports, Harper named Harlan Proveaux, a 29-year law enforcement and emergency management veteran to serve as the GDA's new inspector general and director of its Law Enforcement & Emergency Management Division.
GDA had law enforcement capacity until the Law Enforcement Division was disbanded in 2013.
www.gfb.org/media-and-publications/news.cms/2023/1511/ag-commissioner-harper-restores-gda-status-as-law-enforcement
**Welcomed by ag groups and Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack, the Senate last week confirmed (SO’chill) Xochitl Torres Small as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Agriculture.
Following the vote, Vilsack said he’s “witnessed her lead with energy, authenticity and personal investment that he knows will leave an impact on USDA for years to come.
Since October 2021, Torres Small has served as Under Secretary for Rural Development at USDA.
**The USDA’s Economic Research Service reports wholesale egg prices reached record highs in 2022 after avian flu resulted in significant reductions in egg-laying flocks.
At the height of the disease, weekly egg inventories were 29% lower than at the beginning of the year, and prices reached a high of $5.37 per dozen.
With no new outbreaks reported in 2023, the size of the egg-laying flock has gradually increased.
