Meet the Commissioner

  ROGER JOHNSON
  AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER
  600 E BOULEVARD AVE DEPT 602
  BISMARCK ND 58505-0020
  PH: (701) 328-4754
  FAX: (701) 328-4567
  E-mail:  ndda@nd.gov

North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson is currently serving as the President of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA). As chairman of NASDA’s Rural Development and Financial Security Committee from 2000 to 2007, he played a leading role in the development of the “safety net” policies for agriculture contained in the 2002 Farm Bill and the proposed 2007 Farm Bill. As NASDA president, he continues to press for Farm Bill priorities that benefit agricultural producers, such as a permanent disaster program, the re-balancing of loan rates for northern tier crops and farm-based renewable energy.

A third-generation family farmer from Turtle Lake, Roger Johnson was elected Agriculture Commissioner in 1996 and re-elected in 2000, 2004, and 2006.

As Agriculture Commissioner, he serves on the three-member State Industrial Commission, which is the board of directors for the state-owned Bank of North Dakota and State Mill and Elevator. He is also a member of the North Dakota Trade Office Advisory Board, the State Board of Agricultural Research and Education and many other boards and commissions.

Commissioner Johnson strongly supports programs and initiatives to strengthen economic growth and entrepreneurship in rural areas, especially through his active sponsorship of Marketplace for Entrepreneurs, the state’s largest and longest running economic development initiative. He has emphasized the need for North Dakota to play a leading role in the development of value-added agricultural industries, animal agriculture and renewable energy resources. He believes that North Dakota must develop new businesses, industries and agricultural technologies to fuel further growth in the rural sector and to ensure that agriculture remains the backbone of the state’s economy.

He is a past president of the Midwestern Association of State Departments of Agriculture (MASDA), and past president of the Food Export Association of the Midwest, an association of 12 state agricultural promotion agencies that helps midwestern U.S. companies promote food and agricultural products in foreign markets. In 2005, he was elected chairman of the Interstate Pest Control Compact, a 36-state alliance that provides funding for states to work together to control plant pests, especially in interstate situations.

As a young man, Commissioner Johnson was very active in FFA, serving as chapter president and as a member of numerous judging teams. In 2001, he received the Honorary State and American FFA Degrees, the organization’s state and national highest honors, for his commitment to agriculture education and FFA.

Commissioner Johnson graduated from North Dakota State University with a degree in agricultural economics. He has an extensive background in agricultural mediation, serving as administrator of the North Dakota Agricultural Mediation Service from 1989 to 1996.

Commissioner Johnson is a member of First United Methodist Church of Bismarck. He and his wife, Anita, are the proud parents of a daughter and two sons.

A Message from our Ag Commissioner