North Dakota Department of Agriculture

Commissioner

Website: https://www.nd.gov/ndda/
Social Media: Twitter

About:

Doug Goehring has been North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner since April 2009 and was elected to a full, four-year term in November 2010. A third-generation family farmer, Commissioner Goehring, along with his son, Dustin, operates a 2,800-acre, no-till farm near Menoken in south central North Dakota, where they raise corn, soybeans, spring wheat, field peas, sunflowers, canola, winter wheat and alfalfa. In the past, the Goehrings have also produced durum, barley, mustard, millet and safflower, and have had a feeder cattle operation. Commissioner Goehring believes the future growth and prosperity of North Dakota agriculture depends on the expansion of overseas trade and on new technology. He strongly supports increased research into cereal grains and biofuel crops. A recognized authority on crop insurance, Commissioner Goehring is the former president and chairman of the board of Nodak Mutual Insurance Co. and a director of American Agricultural Insurance Co. He is an advocate for improved crop insurance and other risk management products for farmers and ranchers. Long active in farm organizations, Commissioner Goehring has served as vice president of the North Dakota Farm Bureau and is a member of the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association, the North Dakota Grain Growers, the North Dakota Soybean Association, and the National Association of Corporate Directors. An early supporter of agriculture-based, renewable fuels, he is an investor in the Red Trail Energy Ethanol Plant at Richardton. Commissioner Goehring is a former director of the United Soybean Board and the North Dakota Soybean Council, a former secretary/treasurer of the North Dakota Grain Growers Association and a member of USDA’s Area 4 Research Farm Steering Committee. He serves as president of the Menoken School Board and past chairman of the Bismarck Mandan Chamber Agriculture Committee. He chairs the Biotechnology Task Force of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, and is secretary-treasurer of the Midwest Association of State Departments of Agriculture. Commissioner Goehring attended Bismarck State College and is a licensed medical laboratory technician. Commissioner Goehring and wife Annette have six children and 11 grandchildren. They attend Evangel Assembly of God in Bismarck.