Ed Schafer has been named the new U.S. Agriculture Secretary, succeeding Mike Johanns. The 61 year-old former Republican governor of North Dakota will begin his new position during a particularly difficult time – the White House continues to threaten a veto of the Farm Bill.
As secretary, Schafer will be in charge of deadlocked negotiations with Congress over the five-year farm bill. The administration says the bill must deny crop subsidies to the wealthiest Americans and not raise taxes. Lawmakers say without new revenue, they cannot pay for expansions of food stamp, land stewardship and biofuel programs.
Schafer is the first agriculture secretary from the Upper Midwest since Bob Bergland in the Carter era. At the Agriculture Department, he will oversee 100,000 workers and have jurisdiction over public nutrition, crop subsidy and rural development programs as well as run the national forests.
Born into a successful business family, Schafer gained knowledge of agricultural issues as governor when he supported biofuels and promoted farm exports, said backers. He sold the family’s Gold Seal Co in 1986, a few years before becoming governor. He has been active in real estate and wireless telephone ventures in recent years.
He listed assets of nearly $3 million on a financial disclosure report, including at least $1 million in bank stock yielding more than $100,000 a year in dividends. During a hearing on his nomination Schafer said he would work to “enhance our country’s vibrant agricultural economy (and) advance renewable energy.”
“I will devote myself to improving nutrition and health, enhancing rural infrastructure, promoting good stewardship of our national forests and conserving our natural resources,” he said.