The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) is a
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filin ...
-level agency in the government of
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
which regulates, advocates, and provides services for the state's
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...
industry. The agency was established in 1913 and is headquartered in
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region.
Europea ...
. The current director of the WSDA is Derek Sandison.
History
The Washington State Department of Agriculture (originally known as the Washington Agriculture Commission) was established in 1913.
In 1915, the
state legislature
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
granted the WSDA authority to create and enforce grading standards for
apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...
s and other tree fruit packed in the state. The grading system for apples was the first of its kind in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. The
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...
adopted national grade standards for apples in 1923.
In 1980, the WSDA began an
apple maggot control program in order to prevent the pest from establishing itself in
eastern Washington
Eastern Washington is the region of the U.S. state of Washington located east of the Cascade Range. It contains the city of Spokane (the second largest city in the state), the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanf ...
, an important apple-growing region. The program consists of an
Apple Maggot Quarantine Area, which establishes a pest-free area. The agency also deploys apple maggot traps to a selection of sites in the state. The boundaries of the quarantine area are altered when the apple maggot is discovered in the pest-free area.
, the apple maggot has never been detected in fruit packed commercially in the state.
Following the passage of
Washington Initiative 502 in 2012, the WSDA provides services for the state's recreational
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...
industry. The agency inspects
cannabis edible processing facilities and maintains a list of
pesticides
Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and la ...
which are allowed to be used by cannabis growers in Washington. In coordination with the state
Liquor and Cannabis Board, the WSDA tests retail cannabis for pesticides. Over 40% of samples tested by the agency contain illegal levels of pesticide. Washington does not require all cannabis to be tested, instead the WSDA conducts random tests and investigates complaints. The WSDA plans to provide a service similar to
organic certification
Organic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products, in the European Union more commonly known as ecological or biological products.Labelling, article 30 o''Regulation (EU) 20 ...
for cannabis beginning in 2019.
See also
*
Washington Apple Commission
References
External links
*
Agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people ...
State departments of agriculture of the United States
1913 establishments in Washington (state)
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