Krug has seen industry change

Harry Krug is ready to retire.

As Colusa County's long-time Agriculture Commissioner, he's seen his fair share of agriculture regulations.

He's stepped on the toes of county supervisors to keep his department going during tough budget years; he's stood at the center of a range war between cotton growers and rice farmers; and he's shaken his head at the sometimes poor decisions of politicians.

All in all, it's been a good run for 59-year-old Krug, who is giving up his post to become a race car driver, play golf and fly around the country.

"It's been interesting," said Krug, who will turn 60 in December, his planned retirement date.

Krug has been the county's agriculture commissioner, air pollution control officer and the sealer of weights and measures since 1988.

He's also the director of migrant housing and director of airport operations, all hats he wears to help keep Colusa County a leading agriculture area in Northern California.

He credits his longevity on the job to his "common sense" approach to carrying out his duties and hiring people to do the same in a professional manner.

"I have enjoyed working with people and I think they have enjoyed working with me," Krug said Friday, after announcing his pending retirement.

History of public service

Krug has spent the last 36 years in county government, starting out as an agriculture inspector in Merced County in 1974, just one week after graduating from California State Polytechnic University — commonly referred to as Cal-Poly — with a bachelor's degree in agriculture biology.

He had already spent two summer breaks from college as an agriculture inspector for the California Department of Food and Agriculture's border inspection.

Working at both ends of California — Blythe in Riverside County in 1972 and Tulelake in Siskiyou County in 1973 — gave Krug a good view of most of the state.

In 1979, he went to work for San Luis Obispo County as the deputy agriculture commissioner and moved into the same position in Stanislaus County in 1981.

In 1984, Krug returned to Merced County as the assistant agriculture commissioner, then jumped at the opportunity to take charge in Colusa County when the job opened up in 1988.

"I always liked this part of the valley, so it was a great opportunity," he said.

Krug said he lived in a motor home for the first eight months after taking the position and then moved his family — wife Cindy and children Heath and Hollyce-Ann — to the home they had built on the course at Colusa Golf and Country Club.

The children were young and grew up going to Colusa schools, before going their own ways. Heath is a first-year Maxwell farmer and volunteer Sacramento River firefighter. Holly lives in Woodland and works for Costco.

Although retirement plans include traveling with his wife, camping and fishing, Colusa is where the Krugs plan to stay, playing golf and "hanging out at the airport."

Career highlights

In his three decades in the agriculture industry, Krug's career has taken many turns and held many highlights, including the crisis and controversy surrounding the Mediterranean Fruit Fly infestation in the 1980s, when he was in Stanislaus; and a 21st-century range war that pitted rice farmers against cotton growers in Colusa County.

"The range war was interesting to observe and to see it evolve," Krug said. "It wasn't much fun for the growers but was a cultural change that was not possible to control — even though it was strongly suggested."

Krug said the war began when an herbicide long used by rice farmers damaged a newly introduced short-season cotton crop. Cotton growers were incensed; those who farmed both rice and cotton were torn; and those who farmed only rice remained steadfast in their right.

"It caused a lot of hard feelings," Krug said. "But I've always believed people have the right to grow what they want on their lands."

In the end, the county banned use of the material, and the county's lifeblood — agriculture — pushed on, as the world saw change after change in farming technology and practices, and the rise of new and even better farming materials.

"The changes have been amazing, really," Krug said. "We are producing more and more on less land."

In fact, Krug said the farming evolution is the biggest change he has seen in the last 30 years as regulations against one thing or another gave rise to new inventions and practices, and as a century of flooded and furrow irrigation gave rise to drip irrigation and other means of water conservation.

Krug said he has even seen an evolution in farmers, as those he worked with decades ago retire and pass their legacies on to the next generation — often a little too sure of themselves and the way they want things done but, in the end, willing to learn and adapt themselves to ever changing practices and regulations.

As the sealer of weights and measures, Krug was responsible for protecting consumers and businesses by overseeing the testing of every commercial measurement in the county — from gas pumps to produce scales.

As director of migrant housing, he oversaw the migrant housing complex in Williams, which could have expanded had the city council had the foresight to heed his wisdom, Krug said.

He had in his hand the funding to build a $6.5 million low-income housing project, next to the center, but Williams officials failed to support it, he said, though the council now wishes they had it.

The 50-unit project would have made the city eligible for more grant funding, allowing it to meet the low-income requirements of many programs. The housing had been accepted in the city's general plan.

"It was never constructed," Krug said, "and I ended up giving the money back."

Krug also went toe to toe with his bosses, the board of supervisors, over budget cuts and was even threatened with dismissal for writing letters to the editor of the local newspaper.

"They still kept me around," he said. "They would rehire me every four years and that would lock me in."

For the most part, he said, he's enjoyed the relationship he's had with the county and its officials over the last 22 years.

He secured over $3 million in grants for various projects and for the Colusa County Airport. As a member of the Colusa County Aviation Association, he was instrumental in forming the annual Old Time Fly-In in July.

In addition to serving on numerous committees in various associations, since 2002 Krug has served on the California Transportation Commission's Technical Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, representing the Association of California Airports and general airports at large.

He is a private pilot and member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and Idaho Aviation Association.

Krug also is a member of the Colusa Rotary Club and the National Auto Sport Association.

Contact Susan Meeker at 458-2121 or smeeker@tcnpress.com.