United States-New farm boss.
UNITED STATES- NORTH DAKOTA FARMING.
Doug Goehring, a farmer who lost two bids to unseat Roger Johnson as North Dakota’s agriculture commissioner, has been appointed to take the place of the former Democratic officeholder.
Gov. John Hoeven appointed the 43-year-old Goehring to the position Monday. Goehring said he would start immediately and said he plans to run for election in 2010, when Johnson’s term ends.
Johnson resigned to become president of the National Farmers Union in Washington, D.C. His last day at the Capitol was Friday.
Goehring (his name is pronounced GOR’-ing) is the first Republican North Dakota agriculture commissioner since Kent Jones held the job in the early 1980s. Johnson served as commissioner for more than 12 years.
Goehring said some of his pressing tasks are to assess the impact on farmers and ranchers of recent heavy snowfall and flooding, and to become more familiar with the Agriculture Department’s proposed 2009-11 budget, which is moving through the Legislature.
The winter has caused a great deal of stress in North Dakota’s rural areas, Goehring said.
"When’s the last time we have just continually seen an onslaught of cold weather on top of large amounts of snow?" Goehring asked. "(Farmers and ranchers) are going to be looking and wondering, ’What is available out there to help us in these rural communities.’"
He intends to promote trade, ethanol production and agricultural crop research, particularly on wheat and other cereal grains, Goehring said. He wants to encourage partnerships with private industry and North Dakota’s university system, he said.
Goehring described himself as supportive of biotechnology and hemp production, which has been the focus of an ongoing struggle between the state Agriculture Department and federal agencies that associate the crop with illegal marijuana.
"If we’re going to advance our industry, we have to stay abreast of what’s going on globally, what’s going on in our nation, and what is happening in our own backyard," Goehring said.
Hoeven said Goehring’s "burning desire" for the job - he lost races to Johnson in 2004 and 2006 - was a factor in his decision to appoint him as Johnson’s successor.
"He has a real interest, a real commitment," Hoeven said of Goehring. "It’s not like he just woke up two weeks ago and said, ’Gee, I’d like to be ag commissioner.’"
Goehring operates a 2,000-acre farm near Menoken, a Burleigh County community about 15 miles east of Bismarck, raising corn, wheat, soybeans, canola and alfalfa. He is a director of the North Dakota Soybean Council and treasurer of the North Dakota Grain Growers Association.
The Agriculture Department has 67 employees and a two-year budget of $17.4 million. The agriculture commissioner is paid $81,743 annually.
It regulates livestock dealers, feedlots and auction markets and operates an inspection program for locally produced meat. The agency regulates North Dakota’s dairy and poultry industries, and encourages the marketing of North Dakota-produced goods through its Pride of Dakota program.
The department registers and regulates agricultural chemicals, and sponsors periodic collections of unused chemicals through a program called Operation Safe Send.
The agriculture commissioner also serves on the state Industrial Commission, which oversees the state-owned Bank of North Dakota and the Mill and Elevator in Grand Forks; the state Water Commission, which oversees water projects and development; and the Board of Equalization, which decides tax breaks for new and expanding businesses.
The governor, attorney general and agriculture commissioner make up the Industrial Commission. Goehring’s appointment makes it an all-Republican panel for the first time since 1984, when its members were Jones, Gov. Allen Olson and Attorney General Robert Wefald.
Hoeven said a dozen people, including state Rep. Duane DeKrey, R-Pettibone, and state Sens. Curtis Olafson, R-Edinburg, and Joe Miller, R-Grafton, indicated interest in the agriculture commissioner’s job. The governor said he interviewed six candidates, and interviewed Goehring twice before deciding to appoint him.
