News

Grassley promotes Northey for top USDA post

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley continues to promote his home state’s ag secretary, Bill Northey, for the top position in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Grassley says he met this week with Vice President-elect Mike Pence and told him Northey would be a great choice for U.S. ag secretary.

“He’s done a good job in Iowa. He’s a family farmer and he’s from the Upper Midwest, and I think that emphasizes the family farm, as opposed to California or southern agriculture that tends to emphasize corporate structure,” Grassley says. “And lastly, because he has dirt under his fingernails.”

Northey said this week he has not been contacted by the Trump team.  In an interview with Brownfield earlier this month, Northey said he would be interested in working in the USDA if the right position came along.

Dennis Morrice, KLEM, Le Mars, Iowa contributed to this story.