New Secretary of Agriculture Sworn In

Feb 4, 2008 11:34 AM

Ed Schafer was sworn in as the 29th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Jan. 28. Secretary Schafer brings a record as an innovative two-term governor of North Dakota to USDA along with extensive private sector experience as both an entrepreneur and a business executive.

Schafer served as North Dakota’s governor from 1992 to 2000 expanding North Dakota’s economy, reducing the cost of government and advancing agriculture as his top priorities in office. He worked to normalize trading relations with China and develop that nation as an export market for North Dakota farm products. He also led efforts to upgrade North Dakota’s communications infrastructure and make high-speed voice and data networks available to farmers, ranchers and rural businesses. To expand the state’s job base, he encouraged the growth of value-added agricultural industries such as pasta and corn sweetener manufacturing.

He has had a lifelong interest in conservation and helped arrange the U.S. Forest Service’s May 2007 purchase of the 5,200-acre Elkhorn Ranch in North Dakota. The site was where Theodore Roosevelt had his home and operated a cattle ranch in the 1880s. It is near the preserved town of Medora — the state’s leading tourist attraction.

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