Privatization opportunities in environment and agricultural programs vary widely from state-to-state, largely reflecting the extent of state involvement in these sectors.
Many state environmental and agricultural functions can be shed or contracted out to the private sector. State agricultural export programs, for example, which typically benefit mainly agricultural businesses, are often partly funded by taxpayers. These could be funded privately by the agricultural interests that these programs support.
Fish hatcheries are another area that could be shed to private firms. While most fish hatcheries in America already are privately owned, a number of states own and operate them. These can be sold off to private companies, and fish then can be purchased like other commodities from the private sector. This could result in lower costs for the state.
Other functions typically found under the jurisdiction of the agricultural or environment departments that could be privatized include: laboratory testing, management of laboratories, environmental inspections, toxic waste cleanup, and waste collection.