May 22, 2017

News reports buzzed last week that Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey may soon be headed to Washington, D.C., to serve in a newly created position at USDA. He’s expected to become undersecretary for farm production and conservation, one of three positions created by USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue’s reorganization plan.
So what’s going on? Similar to what he posted on Facebook recently, Northey told Wallaces Farmer he can’t officially comment on a possible new role at USDA. Even though he likes his current job, the Spirit Lake farmer says he’s open to serving agriculture in an expanded capacity.
“I’m as anxious as anyone to figure out what’s likely to happen,” he says. “These things take a while to develop. There hasn’t been any announcement yet. Like other folks, I’ve been in conversation with some of the leadership at USDA about possibilities. I think it’s still a possibility. Rumors are out there — including a conversation about me being offered an undersecretary position at USDA. We’ll see how long this takes to play out and figure out whether that is a possibility or not. I would be interested potentially in taking on a role like that if the opportunity opens.”
New undersecretary position interests him
Is there a specific job Northey would prefer? There could be several jobs at USDA that would interest him, he says. One that’s mentioned most often is the undersecretary for production and conservation. That position will oversee the Natural Resources Conservation Service (soil conservation), Farm Service Agency (farm program) and Risk Management Agency (crop insurance).
Perdue recently laid out the different divisions and how he is reorganizing the top slots at USDA. The new ag production and conservation office will focus on domestic agricultural issues and include FSA, RMA and NRCS programs. The county offices that deliver these programs are the department’s primary point of contact with farmers. “These are areas and programs I’ve had experience with, and I’m very interested in,” says Northey. “They impact a lot of producers. Yes, it would be one of those positions — overseeing the programs. If offered to me, I would be interested.”
Perdue has announced there will also be a new USDA undersecretary position focused on trade policy and issues. And he’s reorganizing the USDA Rural Development Agency.
Has Northey been offered anything yet? “Not formally because of the process of USDA officials having to check through lots of information before they formally make an offer,” he says. “We’ve had good conversations, and I know the USDA leadership has had conversations with other folks as well.”
Any idea on what a timetable might be?
It could be awhile before the Perdue team is ready to formally offer and announce. Certainly, even once it’s announced who the new undersecretary is, it’s likely to take several months to finalize, as it would require FBI background checks and vetting to make sure the nominee doesn’t have any conflict of interest. Northey’s appointment to a USDA undersecretary position would also require U.S. Senate approval.
If nominated for the position, he’s probably two to four months out from the point where it’s all settled and everything is approved. “It’s a longer-term process,” notes Northey.
If this does happen and Northey moves to Washington, D.C., what’s the transition process here in Iowa to fill the Iowa ag secretary position? How does that play out? The job of appointing someone to replace Northey would likely fall to current Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, who is slated to become governor of Iowa after current Gov. Terry Branstad becomes U.S. ambassador to China. Branstad is now awaiting confirmation by the U.S. Senate before he heads off to China.
Governor would appoint new Iowa ag secretary
If the governor at that time, which is likely to be Kim Reynolds, would appoint a state ag secretary, that person would serve until the next election, which is the fall of 2018, says Northey. “So whatever the governor decides her process is, interviewing folks or looking for recommendations or finding out who is interested in the state ag secretary position, it’s going to take plenty of time to play out, if it does come about. And she wouldn’t have to do it right away. But at some time in the future, the governor would appoint someone to fill the Iowa ag secretary position, and that person would serve until the end of 2018.”
Is the new USDA undersecretary for production and conservation position the person who would name the new FSA executive director for each state? What about appointments for top positions in NRCS, RMA and the Rural Development Agency?
Will new undersecretary make state appointments?
Each state’s FSA executive director will serve under the person in Washington who is named to the new USDA undersecretary position. So the answer is “yes,” on the state FSA executive director question. Traditionally, the U.S. Senate has also had a role in recommending to USDA who a state director of FSA would be.
Northey is not now involved in the process to know if that’s the same procedure this time around or not. Or what the timing might be for state USDA agency leader positions to be filled, such as FSA executive director for Iowa. Will the Trump administration announce the state positions before it announces this new USDA undersecretary position? Or will the administration wait until this new position in Washington is filled before they fill the state positions? It remains to be seen.
One thing for sure: Bill Northey has been a great secretary of agriculture for Iowa; he does a fine job here. It will be a tough decision for him to leave. Iowa would lose an outstanding ag leader if he ends up going to USDA. But he’s well qualified and would be a good fit for the new undersecretary position that deals directly with America’s farmers. Northey is a three-term Iowa secretary of agriculture, first elected in 2006 and re-elected in 2010 and 2014. A past president of the National Corn Growers Association, he was named an Iowa Master Farmer by Wallaces Farmer magazine in 2016.
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