Austin—Today, the transition team of Texas Agriculture Commissioner-elect Sid Miller announced that current Director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture Jason Fearneyhough will become Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture and 2nd in command under Miller at the Texas Department of Agriculture. Director Fearneyhough has submitted his resignation to Wyoming Governor Matt Mead and will be leaving the office he has held for five and a half years.
“I am honored that Director Fearneyhough has accepted my offer to become my deputy,” said Commissioner-elect Miller. “While I know his service to the state of Wyoming will be missed, I am excited that he will bring his extensive experience in agriculture and government to the TDA and the people of our great state. I look forward to having him at my side as we take office in January as together we work to ensure that TDA is and continues to be the best state agriculture agency in the nation," Miller added.
Fearneyhough said that he has long-respected Commissioner-elect Miller and that he was humbled when Miller reached out to him and asked him to be his Deputy Commissioner—a statutory position in the TDA.
“I have been engaged in agriculture my entire life and I have been honored to have played a role in helping promote the agriculture industry and shape agriculture policy here in the State of Wyoming and I look forward to helping Commissioner-elect Miller do the same thing in Texas,” Fearneyhough said.
Fearneyhough said that in Wyoming, just as in Texas, agriculture is an important part of the state’s heritage and culture. He said that like Texans, the people of Wyoming have a deeply held respect for the land and the food and fiber that it produces.
“While Texas and Wyoming are separated by distance, the people of our two states share a rugged individualism, an appreciation of their rural heritage, a respect for private property & water rights and personal responsibility, and a love for the freedoms that have made their respective states strong,” Fearneyhough said. “I know that I will be right at home in Texas,” he added.
Fearneyhough first joined the Wyoming Department of Agriculture in 1996 as a technical services inspector and was later a livestock and commodities marketing specialist. In 1998, he went to work for the Wyoming Business Council, and in 2002 opened his own agricultural consulting business which served the department. From 2006 to 2009 he served as deputy director of the Department of Agriculture. He was appointed director of the department in 2009.
Fearneyhough holds a Bachelor's degree in Agricultural Communications and Journalism and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Wyoming. He currently serves as a member of the Republican Agriculture Commissioners Committee and is active in a host of agriculture related associations. He and his wife, Tina, live in Cheyenne with their two daughters. Fearneyhough will be moving to Texas later this month.
“I want to welcome Jason Fearneyhough and congratulate him on his new role as Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture. I look forward to working closely with him to strengthen agriculture in our state and improve the lives of the people we were elected to serve. I am excited that Jason will be joining the ranks of and helping me lead the hundreds of dedicated TDA employees already on the job and serving the people of our great state,” Commissioner-elect Miller said.
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