Wyoming Department of Agriculture (WDA) Director Doug Miyamoto provided members with a broad overview of the department’s structure, responsibilities and current priorities during the Wyoming Farm Bureau Federation Legislative Meeting, highlighting both regulatory realities and long-term strategies aimed at strengthening the state’s agricultural sector.

Miyamoto began by explaining WDA’s structure and budget, noting much of the department’s funding supports partners across the state rather than internal operations.

Budget built on pass-through funding

“Something on the order of 62-63% of the WDA budget is actually passed-through in nature,” Miyamoto said.

Those dollars flow through the department to conservation districts, predator boards and county weed and pest districts, supporting work such as water quality monitoring, predator control and invasive species management. While the funding runs through WDA, much of the work happens at the local level.

Analytical lab supports inspections and producers

Miyamoto also highlighted the department’s Analytical Services Laboratory in Laramie, housed in the same facility as the state veterinary laboratory on the University of Wyoming campus.

The lab provides testing tied to WDA’s delegated federal responsibilities and supports state inspection programs. It analyzes samples connected to dairy and meat inspections, investigates consumer complaints and verifies fertilizer nutrient content to ensure truth in labeling.

The lab also conducts bacteriological analysis for conservation districts monitoring surface waters and evaluating data related to impaired water listings. In addition, producers can utilize the lab for baseline water testing from wells, pivots or surface diversions.

Food safety and meat inspection: a balancing act

One of WDA’s most visible divisions is Consumer Health Services (CHS), which oversees food safety and Wyoming’s state meat and poultry inspection program. Miyamoto noted Wyoming is one of 27 states operating a state meat inspection program.

CHS licenses custom-exempt and state-inspected meat processing facilities and regulates commercial food establishments. Miyamoto emphasized the complexity of meat plant regulations.

“There’s a regulation for everything you can imagine,” he said, referencing detailed requirements related to water sampling, plant design, equipment placement and sanitation.

Because Wyoming operates under delegated authority from federal agencies, the state’s inspection program is routinely audited. Miyamoto said maintaining that authority requires careful adherence to federal standards.

“Oftentimes we’re walking a tightrope between our producers, our processors and our federal counterparts,” he said. Losing delegated authority, he added, would leave producers and processors dependent entirely on federal inspection capacity.

Processing capacity has grown — but remains small

Miyamoto said Wyoming’s meat processing landscape has improved since he began leading WDA in 2015.

“When I started… we didn’t have any federal meat processing plants in Wyoming,” he said. “Today we have 15 or 16.”

During 2020-2022, WDA administered approximately $10 million in federal funds for meat processing expansion grants, helping increase capacity among custom-exempt, state-inspected and federally inspected facilities.

“We just about doubled our production,” he said.

Even so, Wyoming’s scale remains small compared to national packers.

“JBS in Greeley processes more meat before their morning coffee break than collectively we do in Wyoming throughout the course of a year,” Miyamoto said.

He explained the challenge is both plant capacity and supply logistics. Many Wyoming plants are small, and the state’s cow-calf focus limits the number of slaughter-ready, grain-fed cattle available locally. Grain availability and proximity to feeding operations also factor into feasibility.

“I’d like to see if we could do a pilot project that increased both the capacity and the quantity,” Miyamoto said, referencing interest in exploring a model that links Wyoming grain, feeding operations and a medium-sized processing plant.

Inspection levels and interstate limitations

Miyamoto reviewed Wyoming’s three processing categories: custom-exempt plants, where owners retain possession of the meat labeled “not for sale”; state-inspected plants, which can sell retail product within Wyoming; and federally inspected plants, which can sell product across state lines.

“For retail sales, it can either be state or federally inspected,” Miyamoto said.

However, state-inspected meat cannot be sold outside Wyoming. Miyamoto questioned the logic of that restriction, pointing to the “equal to” standard states must meet under federal law.

“We have never been able to understand why you can’t sell that over the internet in other states,” he said, noting policy efforts are underway to expand interstate eligibility for state-inspected products.

Natural resources and policy advocacy

Beyond inspection and licensing, Miyamoto emphasized WDA’s advocacy role through its Natural Resources and Policy Division. Staff monitor federal land management plan revisions, Waters of the U.S. proposals, pesticide regulations and other federal actions affecting Wyoming agriculture.

The division reviews the Federal Register, submits formal comments on proposed rules and works with the Wyoming Attorney General’s Office on litigation strategy when needed.

Miyamoto also highlighted the department’s mediation efforts, which help producers resolve disputes involving conservation programs or grazing permits without litigation.

Additionally, WDA supports a rangeland health assessment program that provides producers with scientifically credible data. Under a cooperative agreement, data collected through the state-funded program must be treated by federal agencies with the same level of acceptance as agency-collected data, provided scientific standards are met.

Technical services and predator control

WDA’s Technical Services Division oversees weights and measures, certifying scales and fuel pumps to ensure products sold by mass or volume are accurately measured. Miyamoto noted emerging discussions around how similar oversight might apply to electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

He also described predator control as one of WDA’s largest program areas, funded at roughly $8 million per biennium. Funds are allocated to predator boards, and much of the work is carried out by USDA Wildlife Services trappers, with state dollars covering most of the cost.

Miyamoto acknowledged both predator control and invasive species management are areas where demand consistently exceeds available resources.

Cowboy State Agriculture Initiative focuses on working lands

Turning to the governor’s Cowboy State Agriculture Initiative, Miyamoto said the central question was straightforward: what is needed to ensure the success of Wyoming agriculture?

“The reality of the situation is it boiled down to… how to keep working ag operations working,” he said. “Working lands and then economic viability of those operations.”

The initiative emphasizes workforce development and trades training through community colleges, as well as strengthening core land-grant programs at the University of Wyoming in disciplines such as soils, range and forestry.

“Core agriculture study was kind of the bread and butter, and I don’t think that’s the way it is today,” Miyamoto said.

The initiative also explores expanding meat processing and evaluating value-added opportunities, including potential improvements in sheep and wool processing. Miyamoto referenced examining whether a wool scouring facility could reduce transportation costs by removing lanolin and debris before shipping.

The plan includes a decision matrix and action table for executive and legislative consideration. A related bill would establish a trust account designed to generate ongoing funding through interest earnings, similar to the Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust.

Legislative focus and long-term direction

Miyamoto said WDA’s legislative docket this session was relatively light, though the department tracked a bill addressing cell-cultured meat to ensure regulatory clarity regarding enforcement.

He emphasized the Cowboy State Agriculture trust fund bill as the measure most closely tied to WDA’s long-term vision.

Ultimately, Miyamoto framed the department’s work — from inspections and predator control to policy advocacy and workforce development — as interconnected pieces of a larger goal: ensuring Wyoming’s producers remain viable in a challenging regulatory and economic environment.

“We’re trying to figure out what it takes to sustain and grow the sector,” he said.

For Miyamoto, that means balancing regulatory responsibility with strategic investment — and keeping Wyoming’s working lands working for the next generation.