Paul Brierley nominated director of Arizona's ag department

“Mr. Brierley represents the best of our agriculture industry here in Arizona,” Hobbs said. “With both personal and professional experience in the industry, I have no doubt that Mr. Brierley will successfully lead our Department of Agriculture with diligence, respect and a deep understanding of the work involved.”

Brierley, who has served as executive director of the University of Arizona Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture since 2014, will start his new job on June 26.

“I’m so excited. This is really the culmination of 30 years of work in the industry in Arizona,” he told the Yuma Sun.

After earning a bachelor’s degree at the University of Colorado, Brierley began his career as a telecommunications engineer in California before starting a hay harvesting and sales business in Graham County, Ariz. He then worked for the Arizona Farm Bureau in several positions before coming to Yuma to lead the Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture.

In 2022, Brierley was named as chair of the University of Arizona Presidential Advisory Commission on the Future of Agriculture and Food Production in a Drying Climate.

Most recently, Brierley has advocated in issues that strongly impact agriculture, including Colorado River water, broadband technology and COVID-19 wastewater testing.

“It was definitely really a nice surprise. In politics, all the stars have to align, and they’ve aligned.”

Brierley was nominated for the position about two months ago. He interviewed with some of the governor’s staff and transition team. As required by state law, an industry committee that includes Yuma’s Vic Smith vetted the nominees. The committee then sent four names to the governor, who selected Brierley.

However, the position is called a nomination until confirmed by the Senate, which could take up to a year. “It’s just one of those checks and balances that the Senate has to confirm it,” he explained.

As Brierley went through the application process, he realized his life experiences “had really all come together to make this a perfect fit for my skills and experience and connections.”

The department handles a variety of areas, including overseeing animal and crop agriculture, pest control and weights and measures, which ensures accuracy at gas pumps and scales.

The department is also charged with doing what it can to prevent and respond to foodborne illness outbreaks.

“It really overlaps ag production, but also public health,” Brierley noted. “There’s so many issues that are major issues right now that agriculture has. If you think about water and even immigration and taxes and regulation, these all have a pretty strong nexus to agriculture.

“So, I think if I go in with any one focus, it’s going to help with public policy on water so that we do protect our ag productivity,” he added.

Broadband and other ag tech will continue to be a priority for him. “Ag technology, that’s been a big focus of mine down there, and how do we optimize that across the state so ag is as efficient and productive as possible. And then tied to the university, I think that’s valuable for agriculture, to make sure we get the research that is needed.”

He believes his connections gave him an edge. “I mean, I can’t underplay the network that I have of people in the industry all around the state and in the government. And I think that is going to play a big role in the effectiveness too,” he said

Brierley will oversee a department of about 300 people. “I’m coming into a good team of people, and I have the support of the governor to really assess where the best opportunities are to be even more effective and build up the agency to take advantage of those opportunities. So I’m going to go in and really listen to staff and policymakers and the industry and hear where the pain points are, where the opportunities are, and just do what I can do to optimize all that.”

He added: “I can tell that Gov. Hobbs and her administration want to do good things for the state, and that’s kind of my mandate. So I look forward to doing that.”

This means, of course, that Brierley will be leaving Yuma for the state capital. “I feel like I need to be there to really be fully effective,” he said. “Another agency head wants to meet, the governor wants to talk about something. I just feel like I need to be there and ready to do that.

“Yuma’s been terrific. This really wasn’t on my radar. So I’m excited for it, but it’s definitely with mixed emotions because building up this Center of Excellence has been really the pinnacle of my career. It’s been just terrific to work with in Yuma, I didn’t just work with the ag industry. I worked with the whole community and this has been wonderful.”

And “one more thing,” Brierley added, “just for people to know that I will always have an open door. I want to hear from people what I need to know. I just always want that open door and input, even if I’m not in the same position that I was, even if I’m not in Yuma.”