The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) is an

executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of the

government of Florida The government of Florida is established and operated according to the Constitution of Florida and is composed of three separation of powers, branches of government: the executive branch consisting of the governor of Florida and the other electe ...

. The

Commissioner of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

(directly elected by voters statewide for a four-year term, and a member of the

Florida Cabinet The Florida Cabinet is a body of the government of Florida comprising the attorney general, the commissioner of agriculture, and the chief financial officer that engages in the collective governance of the state. History Created following Recons ...

) is the head of the department. The current commissioner is

Nikki Fried Nicole Heather Fried ( ; born December 13, 1977) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 12th Florida commissioner of agriculture from 2019 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, Fried graduated from the University of Florida ...

History

The

Florida Constitution The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the powers, duties, structure, and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. The current Constitu ...

of 1868 provided for the creation of the Office of Commissioner of Immigration, whose duties consisted of attracting settlers to engage in agriculture. The

was amended in 1871 to consolidate the offices of Surveyor General and Commissioner of Immigration as the new Commissioner of Lands and Immigration. In 1885, the Constitution was revised and the Commissioner of Lands and Immigration post was renamed Commissioner of Agriculture. The duties of the Commissioner of Agriculture were revised to include supervision of the state prisons. (A Division of Corrections was created in 1957 and state prisons were removed from the list of Commissioner of Agriculture responsibilities). The Agricultural Services Reorganization Act (ASRA) was passed in 1959 and became effective January 15, 1961. This

state law State law refers to the law of a federated state, as distinguished from the law of the federation of which it is a part. It is used when the constituent components of a federation are themselves called states. Federations made up of provinces, cant ...

abolished some independent boards and bureaus, which were assigned to the Department of Agriculture's divisions. These included: Administration, Animal Industry, Dairy Industry, Fruit and Vegetable Inspection, Marketing, Plant Industry, Inspection and Standards. The State Chemist, a position that existed since 1891, was moved to the new Division of Chemistry. The Legislature created the Office of Consumer Services in 1967. The Executive Reorganization Act of 1969 renamed the Office of Consumer Services the Division of Consumer Services and the Board of Forestry the

Division of Forestry The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...

. The Department of Agriculture was renamed the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). The 1992 Legislature passed Chapter 92-291 of the Laws of Florida, which formally organized the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services into the following divisions:

Administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative assistant, Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an admini ...

, Agricultural Environmental Services (AES), Animal Industry, Plant Industry, Marketing and Development,

Dairy Industry A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a ...

Food Safety Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent food-borne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a similar illness resulting from t ...

Fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

and

Vegetables Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

, Consumer Services,

Forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

, Standards,

Aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

, and

Licensing A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

. In addition to the above divisions, the FDACS includes separate offices for Agricultural Law Enforcement, Agricultural Water Policy, Agricultural Emergency Preparedness, the

Inspector General An inspector general is an investigative official in a civil or military organization. The plural of the term is "inspectors general". Australia The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (Australia) (IGIS) is an independent statutory off ...

, as well as for the Commissioner of Agriculture. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Organization

Florida Department of Agriculture Petroleum Inspection

The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is headed by the commissioner, who is elected statewide to a four-year term. The commissioner is assisted in managing the department by a chief of staff, three deputy commissioners and one assistant deputy commissioner. The department is organizated into twelve programmatic Divisions and one support division, each headed by a division director. Each division is subdivided into bureaus, with each headed by a bureau chief. The bureaus are further subdivided into sections.

Discrimination policy

In January 2019, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (in the past was called the Florida Agricultural Commission) explicitly added sexual orientation and gender identity to their discrimination workplace policy.

References

External links

Official website (department homepage)Division of Consumer Services official website
{{authority control State agencies of Florida State departments of agriculture of the United States 1870 establishments in Florida