Mission Statement
Protect and perpetuate Agriculture, the #1 industry in Butte County, by ensuring a safe and healthy agricultural product.
Promote and provide confidence of buyers and sellers by ensuring fairness in local, national and international trade.
Protect and promote the well being of all our customers and our community through the fair, equitable application of agricultural and weights & measures standards, emphasizing education and cooperation, including the use of technology to enhance customer service.
About the Department
The Butte County Agricultural Commissioner’s office is a regulatory agency acting under the jurisdiction and direction of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR), and the Division of Measure Standards (DMS) and in cooperation with various other federal, state, regional, and local agencies. The Agricultural Commissioner enforces the laws and regulations of the California Food and Agricultural Code and the California Code of Regulations Division of Measure Standards and is an appointed official of the County Board of Supervisors.
Functions and Activities
The primary goal and purpose of all county Agricultural Commissioners statewide is "To Promote and To Protect" agriculture. The number one industry in Butte County is agriculture, which provides a very significant base to the county’s economy. The promotion and protection of Butte County agriculture is accomplished through educational outreach and enforcement of the law. The local expertise is utilized to uniformly administer the following statewide programs here in Butte County.
Pesticide use in California is monitored ensuring the continued availability and use of these vital tools for agriculture. This program represents over 60% of the workload of the Agricultural Commissioner. Restricted materials permits are issued for pesticide use and site inspections are performed prior to use. A vital function of this program is the recording of all agricultural pesticide applications from the Use Reports submitted by growers and/or commercial applicators. Departmental personnel provide out-reach to the general community and to growers. As a final measure, commodities are sometimes sampled prior to harvest and analyzed for pesticide residues. All this provides protection for the consumer, the worker, the environment, and the grower, making Butte County and California agriculture products some of the safest in the world.
As required by the California Food and Agricultural Code, the County Agricultural Commissioner compiles and records information in the annual crop and livestock report regarding the gross production and value of the county’s commodities. Various research institutions, schools, banks, government agencies, and businesses use this valuable information to the benefit of the local economy. Also, disasters to agriculture are surveyed and the information collected is used by other agencies offering disaster relief. Statistics promote and protect the continued production and prosperity of agriculture in Butte County.