Monterey County Board of Supervisors selects a new agricultural commissioner from Santa Cruz County.

The agricultural commissioner from Santa Cruz County, Juan Hidalgo, will be headed south as of Feb. 6, 2023. He’s been tapped by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors to replace retiring Agricultural Commissioner Henry Gonzales, the board announced Tuesday, Dec. 13.

Since December 2015, Hidalgo, a Monterey County resident, has served with the formal title of “agricultural commissioner/sealer of weights and measures/director of mosquito and vector control” for Santa Cruz County.

Hidalgo grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and graduated from UC Davis with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Animal Science in 2000. He started his career working for Foster Farms overseeing poultry production farms in the Central Valley, according to a profile of Hidalgo on the California Department of Pesticide Regulation website.

He later worked a seasonal position with the Marin County Department of Agriculture inspecting nursery stock for glassy-winged sharpshooters, a disease-carrying insect threatening vineyards. 

Hidalgo joined the Santa Cruz Commissioner's office in 2004, and in 2012, he was promoted to Deputy Agricultural Commissioner overseeing Santa Cruz County’s Pesticide Use Enforcement program. He worked closely with growers and industry on new pesticide label changes and regulatory requirements, according to the profile.

Earlier this year Hidalgo began collaborating with the Department of Pesticide Regulation on a pilot project to notify residents of hazardous pesticide applications near a senior community and homes in Watsonville, according to a DPR press release. It was one of four pilots in the state that included the counties of Ventura, Stanislaus and Riverside.

“We look forward to collaborating with DPR and our community on this project,” Hidalgo said in the press release dated Feb. 3. “We hope that in addition to providing notification to community members ahead of specific pesticide applications, this project will be helpful in informing our community about our state’s pesticide use regulatory program and protections in place to protect human health and the environment.

“Input received from our community as the project is implemented will be valuable in helping DPR develop a statewide notification system,” he said. The system is expected to be implemented in 2024.

Pesticide notification has been an ongoing issue in Monterey County, with activists from Safe Ag Safe Schools and others pushing Gonzales and his office for more notifications.

Hidalgo was selected after a nationwide search using a national executive search firm. A large prospect pool was narrowed by stages to a smaller group who interviewed with members of the local community and agricultural industry. Ultimately the candidates were interviewed by the Board of Supervisors.

“Both the community stakeholder group and the Board of Supervisors found Mr. Hidalgo to be the most suited candidate for the position of Agricultural Commissioner for the County of Monterey,” said Mary Adams, chair of the board. “Not only is Mr. Hidalgo the right fit for the job, but he is also a Monterey County resident and is thrilled to be working in his home community.”

A county press release described him as “a natural collaborator,” approachable and an “open-minded partner with good listening skills.” He's bilingual, being fluent in Spanish.

“We are pleased to be able to bring someone of Juan Hidalgo’s caliber to Monterey County and look forward to his leadership,” Supervisor Chris Lopez said. “I appreciate he can hit the ground running thanks to his experience collaborating with county and state agencies on emerging issues impacting agriculture and understanding the importance of communicating with community members.”