Donald Butler was appointed by Governor Napolitano to head the Department of Agriculture in July 2003. He is the third director of this relatively young agency, created in 1991 from the state’s various agricultural boards and commissions. A graduate of the University of Arizona’s agricultural program, Mr. Butler brings to the agency 50 years of experience in livestock management as well as in agricultural trade and finance. For a time, he ran a cattle ranch in Idaho. He is past president of the Arizona Cattle Feeders Association and the National Cattlemen’s Association.

Mr. Butler sat down recently with the Arizona Capitol Times to discuss his goals and the ins and outs of an agency that oversees an industry that contributes an estimated $6.6 billion a year to the Arizona economy.

What was the first thing you did when you took over≠

I made a point when I first came here to go out — I went around the entire state to see all our inspectors, our people.

What did you find≠

There was a feeling that the department was, to me, an island, And there was a lack of communication with industry and also with the ‘aggies’ as they call themselves, and I call them — representatives of the various associations: the farm bureau, livestock, cattle growers, cotton growers.

What contributed to this apparent lack of communication≠

I think one of things was the fact that the department had been cut by about 25 percent in its budget, and there was a layoff of a number of people. The livestock inspectors went from some 30-odd down to 18 or 15. It was just cut and slash, so to speak… and that poor person has got to do 10 times the work, and he might be short or she might be short with them, and try to get to the next place and inspect cattle.

Some trade group representatives said that when the cuts were made, the department could have done a better job of explaining their impact on some services.

What is the budget for the Department of Agriculture≠

There’s a little over $10 million from the general fund, and then with federal grants and non-appropriated funding, we’re looking at around $22 million.

Have the funding cuts of the late 1990s been restored≠

We still haven’t got the money back, so we’re still operating on a pretty slim budget. The budget we have for this year is the same as last year. The governor has been supportive all the way down.

Some other state agencies have received more money. What about the Department of Agriculture≠

I think some agencies have received some benefits this year. I think, hopefully, we’ll stand in line for this coming one… I think we’ll have our day. I mean we’re doing more with less. We’re getting the job done. We could do more, there’s no question.

What are some of your priorities≠

Some of the ports I’m concerned about. Food safety is my big priority.

What infestations are these ports of entry guarding against≠

Well, we had the Mediterranean fruit fly last September, and that was in Tijuana. We quarantined [in Mexico], because if one had been found in Yuma County, it would have quarantined the county and that’s the peak of their season. We needed to put out more traps. We needed personnel. We went to the governor, and we were granted emergency [funds] and were able to protect the state of Arizona and the lettuce industry. The quarantine was to keep it over there in Baja California.

Has the quarantine on produce from Baja California been lifted≠

It’s still quarantined in Tijuana. We continue to trap, and we still have people in the Yuma area that are trapping. California has dropped millions of billions of sterile flies [ones that cannot breed], and there hasn’t been any larva since. We’ll continue to trap into August, and then the cycle will be complete.

How much did you get for the med fly emergency≠

We went over to the — across the street [to the Legislature] and we got a $200,000 support. And the governor was very obliging… And I’ve since visited with her and she said, “If you need more, let us know.’’

The Animal Services Division has regulations designed to keep livestock free of disease. You say it also inspects ownership of cattle being sold. Is cattle rustling still a problem≠

There’s been rustling in the dairy industry — picking up heifer calves — so it’s still alive and well, unfortunately. They’ll raise them up because they’re valuable. They’re worth some $400 apiece right now.

Rustling is no longer a hanging offense≠

No, it’s penalties and some jail time.

Mad Cow A Concern

A second case of mad cow disease was found in a Texas cow in June. A former cattleman, Mr. Butler well remembers the discovery of the first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy — in Washington state.

Is mad cow disease a concern of the Agriculture Department≠

You bet, you bet. They have inspected so far over 375,000 cattle [throughout the United States.] These are suspect cattle. These are cattle that are 30 months or older, going to slaughter. And they sample, they take brain tissue after they’ve been slaughtered… I think our quota was around 4,000 to 5,000 from Arizona, but we’ve been over the quota for some time.

Inspecting In Arizona

Mr. Butler says Arizona agricultural inspectors assisted U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors at the state’s only federally inspected slaughterhouse, Sunland Beef Co. in Tolleson.

How has the presence of mad cow disease in the United States affected Arizona≠

You know, we’d love to send product to Japan, and we still haven’t been able to open that market. That one mad cow that did us, 23rd of December, 2003.

You haven’t forgotten the date≠

You know, 9-11 changed our lives, and 12-23 changed the industry. It was a huge market [Japan]. The market here just dropped when they shut us off.

Does the second case of mad cow disease, recently found in Texas, concern you or the department≠

They know where the animal came from, and the animal was, I don’t know — I think a 12-year-old cow, and so they’re checking on that. She had two calves, and they’re following through on that as to where they are. There are trace-backs [on] on any herds that those were involved with.

I think we’re all looking out for it [mad cow disease]. And they’ll continue checking, but… you think of the number of cattle that have been slaughtered, it’s a pretty small percentage… The cow that came up with it was dead on arrival at a pet-food place, and they destroyed it. She was incinerated. They took the brain tissue, and it was incinerated, so that it did not go into human consumption nor into pet food.

Is there any chance that cows from the infected cow’s herd might end up in Arizona≠

I would doubt that, because it was in Texas, and that’s public knowledge at this point, and I doubt very much whether they would be coming this way.

There have been reports of a highly virulent strain of avian flu jumping to people from poultry in Southeast Asia. Do news report of avian flu in poultry in countries like Vietnam concern the department≠

You know, Hickman [Hickman’s Egg Ranch of Glendale] is the biggest poultry [facility] here in the state.… Our inspectors are there daily, I mean looking at the quality of eggs, and looking at health and so forth. There has been avian flu in Texas and on the East Coast, not the bad one that’s over there [Southeast Asia
]. It’s a different variety… there’s certainly a concern.

Are inspectors at the state border on the alert for chickens from the affected parts of Texas≠

When they had that flu thing, the whole area was quarantined. They [chickens] can’t get out from there [the affected area of Texas]. They wouldn’t be coming here, because… they’re quarantined and they’re put down. They’re depopulated as quickly as possible.

You mentioned something about the outbreak of a poultry disease shortly before you came on board. What was that≠

We had the exotic Newcastle… and that was mainly in California. We had a few in the Parker area, on the west side of the state. And we’re still checking on flocks on that. In California, I don’t know how many millions of poultry that they had to put down. In the Los Angeles area, they went in and they had to take fighting cocks… The stories were just unbelievable. You’re going to a little aged woman in her 70s or so and she’s got a parrot that she’s had all her life, then you got to take it and put it down.

Arizona travelers were advised not to take their pet birds into California≠

I think people from here that went into California and took their canaries or parakeets or whatever, they couldn’t bring them back.

[Arizona has since lifted the ban on bringing pet birds back into the state from California, Mr. Butler says.]

Does the department play a role in trying to keep the food supply safe from terrorist attack≠

Yes, we’re involved with [state Homeland Security director] Frank Navarette.

What do you fear in the way of a terrorist attack on the food supply≠

[Mr. Butler lifts his hand as if holding a small container.] Well, you could take a vial like this with foot-and-mouth disease and put down a hundred, two hundred cattle. It’s pretty scary. You look down in central Arizona, you’ll find a feedlot there. There’s a couple hundred thousand cattle there. There’s a million chickens there, and there’s a railroad that goes right through it, and they bring in a hundred carloads of grain every few days. If that track were demolished, what do you feed them≠ Most feed-yards, most operations now are very cautious about who comes on the property. Some dairies won’t let you in.

Besides trying to protect the food supply, what are some of the agency’s other responsibilities≠

We have an Environmental Services Division. They check the pesticides, that’s their area — pesticides and fertilizers and seeds, for purity and so forth. They’re the ones that went and checked the chlorine in a number of local stores throughout the state, to see whether they were current and whether the chlorine you put in your pool was what it was supposed to be. They took samples and they took them to the state [agricultural] lab and they checked them out.

Any other divisions≠

There’s the citrus, fruit and vegetable group. They’re more on standardization, checking that product is the [right] size, the quality, the sugar content. They’re the ones that … inspect all the produce coming out of Mexico.

Is there a lot of produce coming out of Mexico≠

Huge amount; huge amount; I think Nogales is probably one of the biggest ports on the border that handle produce, coming from Sinaloa and Sonora.

What’s the cutoff between a truckload of fruit that’s allowed in and one that’s turned away≠

That’s really up to the inspector. If the quality isn’t there, it has to be rejected. Why, back it goes.

Border Issues

In other borders issues, Mr. Butler talked about the June 18 meeting of the Arizona-Mexico Commission. He co-chaired the agriculture-working group, along with his counterpart from Sonora.

What was discussed≠

Well, one of the issues that we’re trying to work on is the fact that [in] San Luis, they’re hopefully going to build a new port there. There is a port now, but build a new port. The cattlemen of Mexico would like to build new pens and export into this country, but the only way it will economically work is to have cattle from Sinaloa also come through, and Sinaloa cattle have ticks, so we’re working with USDA… with the veterinary services… so that those cattle can come across.

At this point in time, Sinaloa cattle travel all the way across Sonora and Chihuahua into Texas, are dipped at that point, and then cross. And many of them come all the way back to California. So you can see by coming right up to San Luis, you’re in California almost.

[Even if the Mexican cattle are dipped for ticks, they cannot cross at San Luis without federal approval, Mr. Butler says.]

If they’ll approve it, then we can do this. The Mexican cattlemen are willing to pay for the corrals and so forth and the pens on this side.

Does the global economy figure into Arizona agriculture≠

A lot of our products go out of state and out of country; so you know exports are an important factor.

Has urbanization lessened the importance of agriculture in Arizona≠

That’s a pretty mixed question. I think a lot of farmland’s going into concrete. … You look at cotton for instance, there used to be 600,000 to 700,000 acres, now there’s 250,000 or so. And that’s not because of the land going out of production. It’s because of the market; the economics of it, I think. Arizona’s still about $6.3 billion in agricultural products [more recent figures put that at $6.6 billion], and so it’s still staying strong. I mean we’re being able to produce more per acre because of the new techniques going on. I mean the new water systems — drip irrigation; sprinkler irrigation. You got to keep cost down to be competitive. I think agriculture is still a very strong part of the state of Arizona

You said the Legislature cut funds for a program to promote Arizona grown products. Do you see a place for such a program≠

Yes, certainly do. Well, I think you see these farmers markets coming up all around, and I think it’s a thing… that’s really blossomed. And they’re more and more of them, every month, you might say. We’ve got one person on staff that helps them coordinate things.

What do you hope to have achieved when your term is up≠

I’d like to see a smooth running operation, which I think we’re coming to — one that is financially supported by the Legislature, that there is continual harmony between the industry and the department, and recognition that agriculture is a real part of Arizona by the urban areas. I mean they all think they can go into Safeway and get everything they need, you know, but it’s got to come from the ground. —