Bill Northey is a fourth generation farmer from Spirit Lake, Iowa who grows corn and soybeans.  Northey returned to Spirit Lake to farm with his grandfather after graduating from Iowa State University in 1981.  

He is serving his second term as Iowa Secretary of Agriculture after being reelected in November of 2010.

As Secretary, Northey has committed to traveling to each of Iowa's 99 counties every year to hear from farmers and rural residents with a stake in the future of agriculture.  These meetings allow him to listen to their needs and better lead the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship as it seeks to serve the people of the state.

His priorities as Secretary of Agriculture are advancing science and new technologies to better care for our air, soil and water and reaching out to all Iowans to tell the story of Iowa agriculture.