Board Appoints Ag Commissioner
The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors appointed Kamaljit K. Bagri to the position of County Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer of Weights and Measures. The role of Agricultural Commissioner is critically important to our region.
On March 16, the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors appointed Kamaljit K. Bagri to the position of County Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer of Weights and Measures for a four-year term. Milton O'Haire, the County's current Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer of Weights and Measures, will retire from County service this month. Food and Agriculture Code regulations require the Board of Supervisors to appoint new Commissioners serving in the capacity of the Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer of Weights and Measures. The California Department of Food and Agriculture provides a Board of Supervisors with a list of persons who are licensed and eligible for the position. Kamal Bagri was identified as the top candidate through a recent selection process and will serve as the first female agricultural commissioner Stanislaus County has appointed. Bagri will begin employment with Stanislaus County on March 29, 2021.
Currently serving as the San Joaquin County Assistant Agricultural Commissioner, Ms. Bagri holds more than 20 years of experience in this field, including prior work in Stanislaus County and Merced County (where she began her career in 1999 as a seasonal trapper, later promoting to Biologist in 2001). In March 2015 she began as San Joaquin County's Assistant Ag Commissioner. She is a graduate of Guru Nanak Dev University where she received dual bachelor's degrees in education and science.
The role of Agricultural Commissioner is critically important to our region. California is the only U.S. state with an Agricultural Commissioner system overseeing agriculture related regulatory processes. Stanislaus County has a $3.5 billion annual crop value. The Agricultural Commissioner serves the local industry in a myriad of ways; pest detection and abatements, permitting, inspections, export services and employee safety to name a few. As Sealers of Weights & Measures, the oversight assures equity in the marketplace.
Bagri looks forward to serving the Stanislaus region. "As the Ag Commissioner of a county which ranks 5th in agricultural sales throughout California," she said, "I will strive to guide the County in supporting the ag industry locally." The Stanislaus County Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer of Weights and Measures oversees a staff of forty and an annual budget of approximately $5.7 million.
