In Colorado, state ag department officials may be nearing the ability to exhale a sigh of relief. The Colorado Department of Agriculture is completing the final phase of a multiyear office consolidation project that also includes changes in leadership and the structure of the agency.

In a release announcing the final phase, Don Brown, commissioner of agriculture, noted that the process — which started in 2014 — is nearing an end. The department consolidated six of its seven divisions into one building in Broomfield. “This has allowed us to better serve the people in Colorado with a ‘one-stop’ shop while managing staff and programs more effectively,” he said.

Brown added that the process offered CDA the opportunity to reevaluate its leadership structure and combine laboratory services from two divisions into one that will now be called the Division of Laboratory Services.

Moving ahead with new division
That new Division of Laboratory Services will perform lab services for CDA’s regulatory programs and for external customers. The purpose of this division is to conduct timely and legally defensible chemical, microbiological and instrumental analysis of samples related to animal food, animal health, pesticides, soil, fertilizer, ground and surface water, industrial hemp and marijuana.

The division will also serve as the primary source of measurement standards for CDA and provide volume and mass calibrations for Inspection & Consumer Services field inspectors, the Department of Labor and Employment and other external customers.

Three laboratory services will move from their current divisions —the Animal Health Division and the ICS Division — and combine into the Division of Laboratory Services. The labs include the biochemistry, metrology and animal health labs; the latter was formerly called Rocky Mountain Regional Animal Health Lab.

With the creation of the new division, CDA is looking for a new division director. The position serves as one of eight director members of the CDA senior management team. The director will: supervise the Division of Laboratory Services personnel, prepare and oversee the budget, set policies and goals, interpret statutes, and determine the workload for this division. For more information, visit the state of Colorado job opportunities webpage.

Office consolidation
Completion of the new Division of Laboratory Services building will include moving about 30 employees from their current location in Denver. Staff from the Inspection and Consumer Services Division will begin moving to the Broomfield office in November, while the laboratory employees will begin moving to the new building in spring 2019. The move and recertification of any necessary laboratory requirements will complete the consolidation process.

Source: Colorado Department of Agriculture