News Releases

Home  |  Programs  |  Divisions  |  Links  |  About Us  |  Contact Us

1-19-2007

AGRICULTURE AND CONSERVATION DAY TO FEATURE NEW MOBILE LABORATORY

 The West Virginia Department of Agriculture’s (WVDA) new mobile laboratory will be on display at this year’s Agriculture and Conservation Day at the Legislature Monday, January 22, in front of the Capitol from 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

The 53-foot semi-trailer is believed to be the only one of its type in the country dedicated primarily to agricultural uses, according to Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass. It is outfitted with a wide variety of diagnostic and worker safety equipment and can easily be converted to use for any type of human or animal disease outbreak. State dignitaries have been invited to tour the laboratory at 11:30 a.m.

“This state-of-the-art laboratory marks a huge leap forward in the Department’s ability to respond quickly and safely to any type of incident,” said Commissioner Douglass. “Having a mobile facility will allow us to move our full diagnostic capabilities to the site of a disease outbreak, which will speed up the turnaround time on samples and minimize the chance of workers inadvertently spreading a pathogen.”

WVDA’s Marketing and Development Division will provide free refreshments at a public reception to be held at 1 p.m. on the second floor of the rotunda. Regulatory and Environmental Affairs Division will also offer soft-serve ice cream during the reception.

Staff members will be on hand to answer questions at a wide variety of educational displays throughout the day. Displays will include: a computerized display on invasive pests found throughout the state, pesticide regulatory programs, West Virginia Agriculture Jeopardy, the Chesapeake Bay Alliance, WVDA communications and outreach efforts and the WVDA Apiary and Donated Foods programs.

The West Virginia Conservation Agency (WVCA) will feature displays on the Appalachian Grazing Conference, watershed/stream naturalization projects, multiflora rose control program, watershed resource center, the West Virginia Envirothon and the Agency’s geographical information system (GIS) program. Individual conservation districts from throughout the state will also host displays on local activities.

For more information, call Buddy Davidson at 541-5932 (cell) or Yvonne Shepard at 541-6564 (cell).

The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.

Home  |  Programs  |  Divisions  |  Links  |  About Us  |  Contact Us

©2001, 2002 West Virginia Department of Agriculture, All Rights Reserved

Contact the Webmaster