William Northey

Mr. Northey is a 4th generation farmer from Spirit Lake, Iowa and is currently serving his 3rd term as Iowa Secretary of Agriculture. Under Mr. Northey’s leadership, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has promoted science and new technologies to better care for our air, soil, and water and focused on telling the story of agriculture. Mr. Northey is a past-president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture and serves as co-chair of the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force. Mr. Northey served as President of the National Corn Growers Association from 1995 to 1996. He served on the Iowa U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency State Committee and as a Dickinson County Soil and Water Conservation District Commissioner. Mr. Northey graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Agricultural Business and received a M.B.A. from Southwest Minnesota State University. Mr. Northey and his wife Cindy have 3 grown daughters and 5 grandchildren.