A Brooklyn, Iowa dairy farmer has filed the necessary paperwork to be included as a candidate for the Iowa Secretary of Agriculture position on the June 5 Republican primary ballot. Craig Lang, who was also a former Iowa Farm Bureau Financial president, submitted 2,880 signatures from all 99 counties, even though a minimum of 1,000 signatures from at least 10 different counties is all that was required. Lang is the first candidate to file for any office this morning (Monday) and the first to file for the Secretary of Agriculture position. Lang says his priorities will be to improve water quality, soil health and the rural economy and he is proposing four debates prior to the June primary. “The decision to place my name on the ballot on the first day that petitions are accepted is another reflection of my desire to lead Iowa’s agriculture and agribusiness sectors to lasting solutions on the important challenges that face us,” Lang says. “I know we’re going to have others join the race—people I’ve worked with and people I consider friends—and I’m looking forward to a healthy debate on the issues so we can bring rural and urban Iowans together to make our state better,” he adds. Lang has been farming for 40 years in his family’s sixth-generation, 650-head dairy operation. They also farm 1,200 acres. He was one of the longest serving Iowa Farm Bureau Federation leaders, sitting as president from 2001 through 2011 and as chairman of the board for the FBL Financial Group. He was also the chair of the Grow Iowa Values Fund and chairman of the State Board of Regents.
