Department of Agriculture

Wyo. Stat. Ann. tit. 11, ch. 2
in effect

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 11-2-101 Department and board created; director.

(a) A state department of agriculture is created under the management and control of the director with the advice of the board of agriculture. (b) Repealed by Laws 1993, ch. 191, § 4. (c) The department is authorized to accept, administer and expend agricultural commodity promotion, research and advertising assessments.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 11-2-102 Composition; qualifications; appointment and removal of members; quorum.

(a) The board shall consist of thirteen (13) members, including the governor and the dean of the University of Wyoming college of agriculture or his designated representative as ex officio nonvoting members. Eleven (11) voting members shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate and may be removed by the governor as provided in W.S. 9-1-202. (b) One (1) member shall be appointed from each of the seven (7) appointment districts pursuant to W.S. 9-1-218. Appointments in each appointment district shall be rotated among the several counties comprising the district. (c) Members appointed in accordance with subsection (b) of this section from appointment districts shall be appointed for a term of six (6) years. (d) The seven (7) members appointed from the appointment districts: (i) Shall be selected to represent a cross-section of the agricultural industry; (ii) Shall be engaged chiefly in agricultural work; and (iii) Not more than seventy-five percent (75%) shall be members of the same political party. (e) One (1) member shall be appointed from each of the four (4) board of agriculture youth leadership quadrants as follows: (i) The northeast quadrant shall consist of Campbell, Crook, Johnson, Niobrara, Sheridan and Weston counties; (ii) The northwest quadrant shall consist of Big Horn, Hot Springs, Park, Teton and Washakie counties; (iii) The southeast quadrant shall consist of Albany, Converse, Goshen, Laramie, Natrona and Platte counties; and (iv) The southwest quadrant shall consist of Carbon, Fremont, Lincoln, Sublette, Sweetwater and Uinta counties. (f) The four (4) members appointed from the board of agriculture youth leadership quadrants: (i) Shall be selected by considering a cross-section of the agricultural industry; (ii) Shall be engaged chiefly in agricultural work; (iii) Shall be between eighteen (18) and thirty (30) years of age at the time of submitting the application for board membership; and (iv) Shall be appointed for a term of four (4) years. (g) A majority of the appointed members of the board constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business. (h) Appointments and terms shall be in accordance with W.S. 28-12-101 through 28-12-103.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 11-2-103 Regular and special meetings.

The board shall meet annually on the second Monday of April, and special meetings of the board may be held by a call of the director, the president of the board or a majority of the members of the board.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 11-2-104 Salary and expenses; oath; election of president and vice-president.

The board members, except the governor and the dean of the University of Wyoming college of agriculture, shall be paid the salary, for attending and traveling to and from official board business shall be one hundred dollars ($100.00) per day and the mileage and per diem for attending and traveling to and from official board business in the same manner and amount as state employees. The appointed board members, within a reasonable time after their appointment, shall qualify by taking the constitutional oath of office and filing it with the secretary of state. The appointed members shall elect from their members a president and vice-president.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 11-2-201 Qualifications; appointment.

(a) The director of the department of agriculture shall: (i) Be a college graduate with at least five (5) years experience in agriculture; or (ii) Have at least twelve (12) years experience in agriculture and otherwise be qualified if not a college or university graduate. (b) The governor with the approval of the senate, shall appoint the director. The director shall serve at the pleasure of the governor and may be removed by the governor as provided in W.S. 9-1-202. Any vacancy shall be filled by the governor in accordance with W.S. 28-12-101.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 11-2-202 Powers and duties of director generally.

(a) The director shall have his office in Cheyenne and shall: (i) Act as secretary and executive officer of the board; (ii) Through the appropriate division established by W.S. 11-2-101 and with the advice of the board, enforce and execute all laws of the state and rules and regulations of the board; (iii) Repealed By Laws 1998, ch. 6, § 5. (iv) Cooperate with other state institutions and organizations, the agricultural departments of other states and the secretary of agriculture of the United States; (v) Foster a practicable conservation of state natural resources; (vi) Publish information of practical value to state agricultural interests for free distribution among the farmers and other interested persons within the state; (vii) Promulgate necessary rules and regulations to implement W.S. 11-2-202. (b) Repealed by Laws 1993, ch. 191, § 4. (c) Repealed by Laws 1993, ch. 191, § 4. (d) The director in collecting information necessary to perform duties of the department and its divisions, may request information from any agency of the state, a county, city, town or other political subdivision. An agency shall furnish information upon written request of the director. An owner, operator or manager of any manufacturing, mining or other business establishment operating in this state or other person having information necessary to carry out the purposes of this act shall upon request of the director, furnish the information upon forms supplied by the board. (e) For purposes consistent with duties imposed by law and rule and regulation, the director may accept grants from private or public agencies, organizations or other persons. (f) The director may allow the permitting, registration, licensing, testing, inspection and reporting requirements of this title to be conducted electronically as provided by the Uniform Electronic Transaction Act, W.S. 40-21-101 through 40-21-119 and any applicable federal electronic requirements.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 11-2-203 Deputy director; employment of personnel.

The deputy director shall serve at the pleasure of the director and is responsible to and under the control and supervision of the director. The director may employ professional, technical and other personnel as necessary to perform duties prescribed by law and rule and regulation of the board.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 11-2-204 Services of persons in employ of university; reimbursement; applicability of provisions.

(a) In performing duties imposed by law which require technical scientific training, the director may request the services of qualified members of the University of Wyoming faculty, resident or extension. Faculty members shall serve without additional compensation but the department shall reimburse the University of Wyoming for fifty percent (50%) of the salary paid by the university while the faculty member is actually performing services for the director. The use of faculty members and the proportion and distribution of their time shall be determined by agreement between the director and the president of the university and the faculty member shall be employed by the department when performing duties for the director under this section. (b) This section applies to horticulture, apiculture, poultry, dairying, food, oils, seeds, marketing farm crops and any other duties imposed upon the department which the director and the board determine to be more efficiently and economically administered by use of university faculty members. This section does not apply to any branch of agriculture otherwise specifically provided for by law.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 11-2-206 Reports to governor.

The director shall report to the governor respecting the programs and fiscal activities of the department as required by W.S. 9-2-1014.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 11-2-207 Rangeland health assessments.

(a) The rangeland health assessment program is hereby created. The director shall provide for the cooperation and participation with the University of Wyoming, state agencies, county governments, federal agencies and private landowners in the assessment of the condition of the health of Wyoming grazing lands. The rangeland health program shall include, but not be limited to: (i) The necessity for a rangeland health assessment for a particular area of Wyoming grazing lands, including the impact on state, federal, local and private property; (ii) The rangeland health assessment shall be done only with the voluntary cooperation and participation of all participants, including the private landowner, the state grazing lessee and the federal grazing permittee or lessee; (iii) The rangeland health assessment shall be conducted on federal or state managed lands only under a memorandum of agreement with the federal or state land management agency and with the participation of that federal or state land management agency; (iv) The rangeland health assessment shall include, as necessary, establishment of rangeland monitoring, compliance with federal agency standards and guidelines and participation in the incorporation of assessment outcomes into any federal or state decision affecting livestock grazing; (v) The rangeland health assessment shall include any protections necessary for the management of soil erosion and vegetation loss. (b) The director is authorized to contract with the University of Wyoming, institutions of higher education and other qualified state and local governmental agencies to: (i) Conduct rangeland health assessments as provided pursuant to subsection (a) of this section; (ii) Conduct rangeland health assessments on previously established exclosures which exclude livestock grazing to determine what effect the elimination of grazing has had on the quality of the rangeland. These assessments may include an assessment of nearby grazed rangeland as provided in paragraph (i) of this subsection to assist in the evaluation of the effect of excluding grazing. (c) The director shall establish matching funds for any contract entered into pursuant to subsection (b) of this section. (d) The director may accept additional matching funds to augment the planned rangeland health assessment to: (i) Vetoed by Governor; (ii) Identify tools and strategies for resource use that best promote rangeland health; (iii) Facilitate the efficacy of the rangeland study. (e) The director shall establish priorities for the distribution of available funding, including consideration of: (i) Applications that include multiple resource partners; (ii) Amount and variety of funding sources; (iii) Timing and urgency of the project. (f) The director is authorized to adopt rules and regulations necessary to implement this section.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 11-2-208 Agricultural research funding program.

(a) The director shall, through rule and regulation, establish a process to solicit applications from the agricultural industry in the state for applied agricultural research projects. (b) The director, with approval from the board, may solicit applications for applied research under this section and shall contract with any appropriate educational institution or other qualified entity to conduct the research as provided in the application. (c) In soliciting and reviewing applications under this section, the director and the board shall: (i) Consult with producers and nonprofit organizations representing Wyoming agricultural producers; (ii) Consider the potential impacts of the research in strengthening Wyoming's agricultural industry and agricultural production; (iii) Consider the time for anticipated completion of the research; (iv) Consider the educational institution or other qualified entity which will conduct the research, giving preference to educational institutions located within the state; (v) Ensure that the research results will be widely disseminated to the appropriate sectors of Wyoming agriculture; (vi) Establish requirements for matching contributions from the educational institution or entity involved in the research and give preference to those projects which include additional private and institutional funding in support of the projects.
Source: WY Statutes (Official Site)URL: https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title11.pdfFetched: 10/4/2026