Ag secretary candidates attempt to draw contrasts

DES MOINES - The five Republican candidates for Iowa secretary of agriculture agree on many issues but used a Tuesday debate to stress how their experiences make them the best candidate for the job.

The five candidates - Ray Gaesser, Chad Ingels, Craig Lang, Mike Naig and Dan Zumbach - participated in a forum broadcast by KXEL-AM radio. The five face each other in the June 5 primary.

Zumbach, a farmer and state lawmaker from Ryan, said voters should consider his experience in the Iowa Legislature and the dozens of other state legislators supporting his campaign.

'I'm the only candidate that has put my name on the (ballot) and did the things they asked me to do,” Zumbach said. 'I've been through a lot in my life, working through the tornadoes, the floods, the fires, and I have the ability to persevere through some really though times.”

Naig is the current state ag secretary; he was promoted to the post in March when former Secretary Bill Northey was appointed to a position in the federal ag department. Naig stressed that experience, saying the state needs an effective and conservative leader in the ag post.

'I'm on the job today,” Naig said. 'I was appointed by Gov. (Kim) Reynolds, I was hired by Bill Northey and endorsed by Bill Northey, and I think that both of those facts speak to my ability and my credentials.”

Lang, a dairy farmer from Brooklyn and a former president of the Iowa Farm Bureau, stressed his desire to promote healthy soil for Iowa farmers, which he said helps the state's ag economy and water quality.

'When Iowa farmers do well, Iowa excels,” Lang said. 'Healthy soils create wealth, and healthy soils retain nutrients and keep it out of the water.”

Ingels, a hog farmer from Randalia, said with water quality such a pressing issue in Iowa, his experiences make him the field's best candidate.

'I have almost 20 years' experience working with farmers individually and in farmer-led watershed groups, working to improve water quality in their parts of the state,” Ingels said. 'I have some innovative ideas that only come from that experience, understanding that the programs need to be as simple as possible but still effective. They can be cost- effective yet efficient.”

Gaesser, a corn and soybean farmer from Corning, said he has a mixture of experience with water quality as a farmer and trade issues as a leader in the Iowa Soybean Association.

'I've got decades of experience not only leading in water quality on our farm, doing those practices and implementing them, but also on trade around the world and opening markets,” Gaesser said.

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