Former USDA official Tim Gannon to run for Iowa secretary of agriculture

A fifth-generation Iowa farmer with experience at the U.S. Department of Agriculture will run for Iowa secretary of agriculture this year.

Tim Gannon, a Democrat, worked for eight years at USDA under Secretary Tom Vilsack, a former Iowa governor. Since returning to Iowa, Gannon farms 900 acres near Mingo on his family’s century farm.

As secretary, Gannon said he will focus on trade promotion and identifying new markets for Iowa ag products while protecting soil and water and encouraging economic development in rural Iowa.

“As Secretary of Agriculture, I will strengthen support for the pillars of Iowa agriculture and I will fight to expand the market so that producers of all types and sizes can thrive,” he said in a statement. “In places like my hometown of Mingo, we need to do much more to give young people hope for the future and that means expanding Iowa agriculture and supporting value-added products that can be tested, grown, and manufactured right here in Iowa.”

In an interview with the Des Moines Register, Gannon argued that strengthening the agricultural economy is critical to preserving and revitalizing Iowa’s small towns and rural communities.

“If we aren’t ensuring that the rural economy continues to grow and stay strong, it’s going to be harder and harder for folks who face long commutes to jobs, kids who face longer stretches on school buses or, for folks who need critical health care, longer trips to and from the doctor,” he said. “It all starts with agriculture.”

Gannon’s various roles at USDA focused on risk management and economic development, including work on an expanded business loan program rolled out in 2009 during the Great Recession. A graduate of the University of Iowa, he now lives in Des Moines with his wife, Liz, a former spokeswoman at the Environmental Protection Agency.

He is the first Democrat to announce his candidacy for secretary of agriculture. The office is currently held by three-term incumbent Republican Bill Northey, although he has been nominated for a post at the USDA and is not expected to seek re-election.

Three Republicans — former Iowa Farm Bureau leader Craig Lang, American Soybean Association executive Ray Gaesser and deputy agriculture secretary Mike Naig — have already declared their candidacies.