Hunt keeps his eyes on ag issues

In September 2021, Weston County saw an old friend, Hans Hunt, take on a job dealing with agricultural and forestry issues in the office of Wyoming Sen. Cynthia Lummis, with whom Hunt works very closely. 
Hunt, as many locals know, grew up on the MW family ranch, south of Newcastle. First elected to the Wyoming Legislature in 2010, Hunt served five two-year terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, then was elected to a sixth term. As a legislator, Hunt worked on forestry and ag issues in Wyoming. He stepped away from his legislative duties in October 2021 to work with Lummis in Washington, D.C. 
He said he believes that the biggest problems facing the agriculture industry in our country and state are inflation, the increasing costs of fuel, fertilizer and animal feed, and unstable supply chains. 
“[The] big issue has been in trying to make supply chains more stable,” Hunt said. “One of the critical aspects of this is expanding the number of small-scale packing plants so that there are more options for getting animals to slaughter than just selling them through the mainstream markets to the major packing companies.” 
Hunt also says there is a problem with country of origin labeling,  also known as COOL, which works to produce transparency in the cattle markets. 
“Most of these issues have been ongoing for at least a few years, if not longer,” Hunt stated. 
Hunt said that because Congress moves slowly, it’s hard to make big changes in a short time. Still, he said that he has ideas on what needs to be done in order to resolve the problems. He said that government spending, for example, can be reduced to help mitigate inflation. He also believes that loans through the U.S. Department of Agriculture to small businesses would benefit small packing plants by reducing the red tape related to state-to-state meat shipments.  
Hunt’s daily tasks include communicating with counterparts in other legislative offices who also deal with agriculture and working with Lummis and other senators on ag, forestry and trade bills. This process usually consists of the senator “sending me a copy to read through it and deciding whether it’s something that would be beneficial to Wyoming, and whether it’s something she’d be interested in supporting,” Hunt said. These issues are then discussed at weekly meetings, where they are then boiled down to simple briefings on a bill and then deciding whether Lummis will be a cosponsor. 
“Sen. Lummis is really outstanding to work for, and I enjoy working with all of my colleagues in the office,” Hunt said. 
Hunt said  that while there are struggles with the new job, there are also rewards. For one, he also spends his time on other policy areas such as education and health care. According to Hunt, he enjoys the benefits of a greater team effort in Washington, D.C., as opposed to the state Legislature. He said he also has more time to read, study and research ag policy, which he greatly enjoys.  
Hunt said he misses Newcastle, as well as being home on the ranch with his family. 
But he also said the nation’s capital comes with great perks, such as an amazing history to see and learn about and a great variety of restaurants. 
And, according to Hunt, the humidity, hot summers, slow progress in Congress, and the number of ag issues facing the country and state do not deter him, his colleagues or Lummis. 
 
NLJ correspondent Preslee Fitzwater is a freshman Newcastle High School student enrolled in agri-science and a member of the local FFA chapter, with an interest in Ag Communications. She has been published in two poetry books and is currently working on publishing her own poetry book.