Mike Naig


Mike Naig is an American politician from the state of Iowa. He is the Iowa Secretary of Agriculture.
Naig became the Deputy Secretary of Agriculture in September 2013. After the resignation of Bill Northey, Kim Reynolds appointed Naig to succeed him in March 2018. Naig defeated Tim Gannon in the November 2018 election.

Biography

Naig grew up on a family farm near Cylinder, Iowa. He graduated from Emmetsburg High School in 1996 and attended Buena Vista University, graduating in 2000 with bachelor's degrees in biology and political science.
He spent 13 years working in the agriculture industry, serving in various trade organizations. In September 2013, he became the deputy secretary of agriculture for the state of Iowa, serving under then-Iowa agriculture secretary Bill Northey. He served in this role until March 2018, when Northey was appointed Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation at the United States Department of Agriculture, at which point governor Kim Reynolds appointed Naig to Iowa Secretary of Agriculture to fill the vacancy left by Northey.
Naig won election to a full term as Iowa Secretary of Agriculture in November 2018, defeating Democratic challenger Tim Gannon 50% to 47%. In the election, Naig received the backing of the Farm Bureau as well as companies like John Deere and Monsanto.