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Ron
de Yong
Title: Director
Organization: Montana Department of Agriculture
Office Phone: 406-444-3144
Office Fax: 406-444-5409
Email : agr@mt.gov
Mailing
P.O. Box 200201
Helena, MT 59620-0201
Shipping
303 N. Roberts, Room 220
Helena, MT 59601
Governernor Brian Schweitzer appointed Ron de Yong director of the Montana Department of Agriculture in July 2007. de Yong owns and operates a 320-acre family farm near Kalispell that produces hard red spring wheat, peppermint, barley, peas, lentils and alfalfa. For the past seven years, he has been a lecturer at Cal Poly State University, teaching agricultural policy and economics.
de Yong earned a master's degree in economics at the University of Montana and undergraduate degrees from the Montana State University in agricultural science and philosophy. He has participated in national and international policy discussions as a Montana state committeeman for the USDA Farm Service Agency; state director, lobbyist and national economist for the Naitonal Farmers Union; and a member of Senator Max Baucus's delegation to the 1999 World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in Seattle.
de Yong says he finds fascinating the evolution of agricultural policy and its resulting impact on history. As department director, he intends to have a direct role in implementing policies to support family farms and enhance agricultural business opportunities in Montana.
He and his wife Dee have three children.