Iowa farmer running for top ag job in the state

Feb 05, 2018

Tim Gannon wants to be Iowa’s next agriculture secretary

By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com

A farmer from Jasper County, IA has thrown his name into the running to become Iowa’s next Secretary of Agriculture.

Tim Gannon farms about 900 acres of cash crops and wants to bring the lessons he’s learned on the farm to the state legislature.

“My values come from my family farm and the small town in which I was raised,” Gannon said in a statement announcing his candidacy. “I know firsthand the critical role agriculture plays in the success of Iowa. It is the foundation on which sustainable growth and job creation comes to all corners of our state.”

Though a farmer first, Gannon also brings a wealth of political experience.

The 41-year-old Democratic candidate worked under then-U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack as an associate administrator from 2009 to 2017 within the USDA’s Risk Management Agency.

Should he win the job later this year, Gannon will look to find additional market access for Iowa producers.

“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,” according to his statement.

His other areas of focus will include strengthening the agricultural economy and encouraging the next generation to consider farming as a career option, according to the Des Moines Register.

“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 folks who need critical health care, longer trips to and from the doctor,” he told the Des Moines Register on Thursday. “It all starts with agriculture.”

Gannon is the only official Democratic candidate announced in the election to replace incumbent Bill Northey, who’s in line to accept a position within the USDA.

Three Republicans are also vying for the position.

The candidates are Craig Lang, a dairy farmer and former president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Ray Gaesser, chairman of the American Soybean Association, and Mike Naig, Iowa’s deputy agriculture secretary.

Top photo: Tim Gannon/Facebook

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.