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Missourinet

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You are here: Home / Archives for Jon Hagler

2nd House Committee to investigate alleged hostility at Department of Agriculture

November 5, 2013 By Mike Lear

Two House panels will now be conducting investigations following up on allegations of a hostile work environment at the State Department of Agriculture.

Representative Casey Guernsey (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

Representative Casey Guernsey (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

House Speaker Tim Jones (R-Eureka) has announced he will form the Bipartisan Investigatory Committee on State Department Workplace Abuse to be headed by Representative Casey Guernsey (R-Bethany).

UPDATE:  See Bob Priddy’s story with an interview with Guernsey here

In a statement Jones says, “As this story has continued to evolve in the press I have heard from many Missourians who are deeply concerned by the allegations made against the former department director. Rather than make a rush to judgment on this case, it is imperative that we do a comprehensive review of the way the department has been run and the way its employees have been treated.” Jones continues, “I want the committee to sort through the allegations of impropriety and find the truth of what truly occurred in the Missouri Department of Agriculture. Our goal is to root out any abusive behaviors and to make the department that oversees our state’s top industry the kind of efficient, well-run governmental agency that Missouri taxpayers deserve.”

Jones refers to the departure of Agriculture Director Jon Hagler from the Department in early October the day after a letter was released by a former Department employee accusing Hagler of creating a hostile workplace. Allegations have since been raised that Hagler threatened an executive of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association. Hagler answered those allegations publicly for the first time in an interview Saturday with Missourinet.

Jones has appointed Representative Stanley Cox (R-Sedalia) to serve on the committee with Guernsey, and says the rest of the committee’s membership will be announced in the coming days. Guernsey says he expects the committee to begin holding hearings later this month.

Jones had already asked the Government Oversight and Accountability Committee chaired by Representative Jay Barnes (R-Jefferson City) to investigate issues at the Department of Agriculture as well as the Department of Labor, where claims have been made of intimidation and discrimination by a former department director.

Filed Under: Legislature, News Tagged With: Casey Guernsey, Jay Barnes, Jon Hagler, Stanley Cox, Tim Jones

Former Ag Director speaks about allegations of hostility, threats (AUDIO)

November 2, 2013 By Mike Lear

Former Missouri Agriculture Director Jon Hagler has spoken to Missourinet in his first interview since he was replaced at the Department of Agriculture. In recent weeks Hagler has been accused of creating a hostile work environment at the Department and of threatening the executive vice president of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association.

Former Agriculture Director Jon Hagler

Former Agriculture Director Jon Hagler

Hagler says he waited until now to speak about those allegations because he was still employed by the Nixon administration until yesterday and was therefore subject to what he refers to as “his own” media policy at the Department of Agriculture.

“This is the first opportunity I’ve had to speak as a private citizen. I’ve been really reluctant to step forward and say anything but I think some things need to be corrected for the record.”

Hagler was replaced the day after a letter written by Beth Ewers dated October 10 was released regarding her resignation as Associate Director of the Missouri Meat and Poultry Inspection Program. In the letter she accused Hagler of creating an environment of “hostility, disrespect, intimidation and fear,” at the Department.

Hagler says the release of that letter in relation to his departure was a matter of “horrible timing.”

He says he had been discussing with Nixon staff the potential that he would be leaving since mid-August, and told them on Tuesday, October 8 that he had an interview lined up with a university before leaving for an ag conference in Wyoming.

“On that Thursday evening I got back to the Department … and then found out that letter had been released to the public. We had planned on making the change the next day.”

Ewers, in her letter, alleges that during a meeting between her, Hagler, Human Resources, State Veterinarian Linda Hickam and the Director of the Meat and Poultry Inspection Program, Hagler threatened to fire her. She wrote, “Firing has become a common threat that is leveled toward anyone who disagrees with the MDA administration or makes an unintentional mistake at this department.”

Hagler disagrees with that characterization, saying, “I don’t think there is any person that has ever been fired (from the Department of Agriculture during my tenure) that has not gone through the Human Resources process and fully had an opportunity to vet their concerns.”

He says he isn’t sure where the claims of a “hostile work environment” come from, but he says there have been ongoing disagreements between the Meat Inspection Division and others within the Animal Health Division.

Hagler says Ewers’ statement that he told her “he does not ‘need’ meat inspection but that he needed the current State Veterinarian,” is a paraphrase of something said in a Human Resources meeting, which he says he can not address directly for fear of violating personnel issues.

Speaking in general terms, he says each one of the issues raised, “could have been addressed through the Human Resources process.”

AUDIO:  Hagler responds in general terms to Ewers’ statement that he told her “he does not ‘need’ meat inspection but that he needed the current State Veterinarian.”

Hagler admits to saying to Ewers that by his interpretation her work fell under the description of an “Environmental Public Health Specialist V,” which Ewers says was a “direct insult to me,” and meant to “‘put me in my place’ in front of the State Veterinarian.”

He says he was trying to discern the difference between her position and that of the Environmental Public Health Specialist V, “but certainly by no way did I mean any offense at that.”

Hagler says of Ewers and her letter that the situation is unfortunate and he wishes her the best.

“I hate it for her and I hate it for the Department, and I had no intention of her leaving her job.”

Most recently Hagler has been accused of making threats against the executive vice president of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association after the release of a magazine article critical of the Department.

Hagler says he had a good working relationship with Deering and when he saw that article, he took his concerns directly to Deering.

“I just felt like he didn’t deal with the situation honestly … so what I said was … ‘In Missouri, your handshake and your word and dealing with people honestly makes a big difference, and if you don’t do that in Missouri you’re liable to get your butt whooped.” Hagler says the statement was not meant to be taken literally, “Absolutely I shouldn’t have said it.”

Hagler says he later apologized to Deering and says it has been nine months since the two had agreed to “let bygones be bygones,” adding that the two have since collaborated on other issues and projects.

“We shook hands … and I haven’t heard a thing about it until this recent article came out.”

Asked whether he thinks the issue was raised now for political reasons, Hagler says, “Well this is Jeff City … certainly a political location and a political city. I wouldn’t put past anything to have politics raised in that situation. I can’t honestly say why it is.”

Hagler takes an exception with a claim by Cattlemen’s Association President Chuck Massengill that he left after 20 years at the Department of Agriculture in 2009 because of the environment created by Hagler.

Hagler tells Missourinet, “In 2009, as I recall, we had the worst budget crisis in Missouri history. Doctor Massengill was an employee of the Department but he was a retired employee … and we laid off all those retired employees. I don’t believe he left because of any … to my knowledge that’s the first I’ve ever heard of it … because of any difficulty whatsoever other than we laid off all retired employees that were still drawing a paycheck because we had to.”

Hagler believes Massengill has had a long-running dispute with the State Veterinarian, Hickam, but says he doesn’t know if that has anything to do with Massengill’s role in the Deering issue being raised now.

The House Government Oversight and Accountability Committee has been asked by House Speaker Tim Jones (R-Eureka) to dig into the issues raised regarding Hagler and the Department of Agriculture, as well as other issues alleged at the Department of Labor.

Hagler won’t rule out talking to the committee if he is called to. “I don’t think there’s anything to hide,” he says.

After more than 20 years in public service Hagler is looking forward to returning to private life. He says he has taken a job with a “private company,” and says he hopes to be done with politics.

He says he has received a great deal of support from individuals in the Department of Agriculture, including the Meat and Poultry Inspection Division, and from others he has worked with in the past. He offers texts and e-mails he has received as evidence of that.

“Those things kind of warm your heart. They’re certainly solace in an environment where you have to hear these other things.”

Hagler says the recent allegations and controversy are not representative of him, the Department or the Nixon Administration and calls them an unwanted and unfortunate distraction from what he calls the good work done in the last 5 years.

“This sort of political piling on right now is very uncomfortable … you never want your mom to have to see things like that and you don’t want to have to personally deal with it. On the other hand I wouldn’t trade it for all the five years’ worth of accomplishments.”

AUDIO:  Mike Lear interviews former Missouri Agriculture Director Jon Hagler 37:17

Filed Under: News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: Jay Nixon, Jon Hagler, Missouri Cattlemen's Association, Missouri Department of Agriculture

House Speaker to take agriculture tour

October 4, 2013 By Mike Lear

The next tour of the state by House Speaker Tim Jones will focus on Agriculture.

House Speaker Tim Jones (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

House Speaker Tim Jones (photo courtesy; Tim Bommel, Missouri House Communications)

House Speaker Tim Jones says with a family background in farming, he understands how important agriculture is to the state. He says the relationship between issues that effect agriculture and those that effect business is growing stronger all the time.

“Farmers are really becoming quite the entrepreneurs themselves and employing some high technology into their practices as well, so I look at that as not two separate issues but as one very cohesive part of the pie.”

Jones says he wants to highlight the importance of agriculture to the state.

“But for agriculture, we do not eat. We do not survive. We have to have a good, strong agribusiness industry for the future of our state and the future of our nation. Secondly, I’m going out to listen. I want to listen to Missouri’s farmers and farm families and our small business owners who support our farmers in many different ways as vendors, or contractors. I want to learn about the industry, I want to learn about its challenges, I want to learn about the issues facing it. I want to learn about what ways the state legislature can facilitate Missouri having the best agribusiness industry in the country.”

Missouri Agriculture Director Jon Hagler says if the legislature wants to support agriculture, one area it can look to is exports. He says many parts of the globe are showing potential for growth for Missouri ag products.

“Anything that we can do to continue to enhance our ability to export across the state and across the nation, and across the globe is something worth paying attention to.

Jones’ tour includes stops in Laddonia, California, Sedalia and Kansas City. Hagler hopes he’ll go further north, too.

“When you get up above Highway 36, it’s such a wonderful part of Missouri, such a rich agricultural heritage and they’re experiencing some significant conditions differently than they are south, for example, of I-70. If you look at the weather … the drought conditions that they’ve experienced not just last year but continuing this year.”

The Speaker’s Ag Tour begins October 15.

Filed Under: Agriculture, News Tagged With: agriculture, Jon Hagler, Tim Jones

State Fair to feature visit from Deputy Agriculture Secretary

August 9, 2013 By Mike Lear

Governor Jay Nixon was not at the opening day of the Missouri State Fair, instead spending time in Michigan touting the state’s automotive industry and in southern Missouri visiting with those impacted by flooding there.

Missouri Director of Agriculture Jon Hagler.

Missouri Director of Agriculture Jon Hagler.

Hagler says the Governor will be at the Fair on Thursday, the day of the Governor’s Ham Breakfast, with a special guest from Washington D.C., Michael Scuse.

“The current, Acting Deputy Secretary of Agriculture is going to be here … he’s also over exports and will talk about the strength of that.”

Hagler says there is good cooperation between the state Agriculture Department and its federal counterpart.

Nixon is also expected to be at the Fair on Wednesday during the Show-Me Bluegrass Festival.

Filed Under: Agriculture, News Tagged With: Jay Nixon, Jon Hagler, Missouri State Fair

State Fair underway amid concern for flood victims

August 9, 2013 By Mike Lear

The flooding in southern Missouri is on the minds of those presenting the Missouri State Fair.

Fair Director Mark Wolfe says there will be some people who would like to be at the Fair whose plans will be altered by high water.

“I understand there are some roads down in central, south-central Missouri and down into the eastern part of the state … we’ll be thinking about those folks. Hopefully they’ll find a way out of there and make it to the Fair. Hopefully when the Fair’s over that water will have receded and life can get back to normal.”

Missouri Director of Agriculture Doctor Jon Hagler says some of the areas that are flooded now also received steady precipitation in the spring.

“Crops were looking good, pastures were looking good and green which is a rarity for July and August … for the cattle folks, a lot of those guys were just trying to get back up on their feet and they’ve had a lot of cattle stranded on one side of the farm, a lot of fences taken out, a lot of gates taken out and crossings, etcetera.”

Hagler notes that the lack of a permanent Federal Farm Bill means disasters such as this flood raise concerns about whether farmers will have any kind of disaster assistance, particularly livestock farmers.

Filed Under: Agriculture, News Tagged With: Jon Hagler, Mark Wolfe, Missouri State Fair

Agriculture Director discusses priorities for 2013 legislative session

January 9, 2013 By Mike Lear

The session of the general assembly that begins today will mean an education effort for the Department of Agriculture, according to its director. Agriculture Director Jon Hagler says there are 57 new members in the general assembly, and his Department must reach out to all of them.

Missouri Director of Agriculture Jon Hagler.

Missouri Director of Agriculture Jon Hagler.

“Letting folks know what the Department does, what it does for their constituents and the importance agriculture plays in our economy, and looking to see what their ideas and thoughts are as we move forward over the next four years.”

Hagler says a key budget issue for the Department will be continuation of biodiesel production tax credits.

“Even over the last, challenging 4 years we’ve been able to do that for ethanol and biodiesel. Those ethanol incentives have gone away now but the biodiesel are still there so that will certainly be a priority for us.”

Hagler says the ethanol industry has matured and is developing second and third generation technology, and is ready to move on without production incentives.

He says though budgets in recent years have been tight, targeted reinvestments have been made in the Department of Agriculture that must be continued.

“For example in the grain dealer area, having grain auditors certainly helped protect us over the last three or four years so that we didn’t have the failures that we saw in the past. In vet care, in our vet capacity, being able to respond to disease, emergencies, trade issues. I think exports is another area where Governor Nixon certainly strengthened our capacity.”

Hagler says at the federal level, the extension of the old Farm Bill means a lot of uncertainty for farmers. He says producers need Congress to pass a new, 5-year bill.

Filed Under: Agriculture, Legislature, News Tagged With: Department of Agriculture, Jon Hagler

Agriculture Department offers grants to support spaying and neutering

January 8, 2013 By Mike Lear

The Department of Agriculture is making grants available for animal shelters, rescue groups and other non-profit organizations for spaying and neutering.

Agriculture Director Jon Hagler encourages animal shelters, rescue groups and other non-profit organizations that offer spaying and neutering services to go to mda.mo.gov to apply for I'm Pet Friendly grants.

Agriculture Director Jon Hagler encourages animal shelters, rescue groups and other non-profit organizations that offer spaying and neutering services to go to mda.mo.gov to apply for I’m Pet Friendly grants.

Agriculture Director Jon Hagler says those organizations need help to pay for offering those services.

“We want to encourages shelters all across the state of Missouri to reach out and to get on the website at mda.mo.gov and to apply for the I’m Pet Friendly grant, because it’s up to $2000 for them to offset the cost of those services.”

The deadline to apply for the grants is February 15.

Hagler also encourages Missourians to consider buying an “I’m Pet Friendly” license plate. $20 from every plate sold goes to the Agriculture Department’s Pet Spay & Neuter Fund.

Department of Revenue spokesman Ted Farnen says, “There are currently 752 passenger cars, trucks, motorcycles and RVs that currently sport ‘I’m Pet Friendly’ license plates in Missouri.”

The Agriculture Department says the program is expected to top $20,000 in donations this year.

Filed Under: Agriculture, News Tagged With: Jon Hagler, Missouri Department of Agriculture, Missouri Department of Revenue



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