Formed in 1915, the Department of Agriculture merged in 1929, with the Department of Markets, the Dairy and Food Commission, State Treasury Agent, State Humane Agent, Live Stock Sanitary Board, and the State Fair Advisory Board to form the Department of Agriculture and Markets. In 1939, it was renamed the Department of Agriculture. Chapter 29, Laws of 1977, renamed the agency the Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection, reflecting additional responsibilities. The Department was responsible for protecting consumers through food and trade regulation; for protecting human health and agricultural resources through animal disease and plant pest eradication programs; and for providing marketing services designed to disseminate economic information to agricultural producers and processors, increase demand for Wisconsin agricultural products, and assist producers and processors in developing more effective and efficient marketing methods.
