Second in Command at USDA is Minnesota Farm Boy at Heart
Steve Censky may be second in command at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but he’s still a Minnesota farm boy at heart.
Censky, deputy secretary of the USDA, grew up on a family farm near Jackson. He attended Jackson public schools and was in 4-H and FFA.
He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as deputy agriculture secretary in October 2017 after being nominated for the post by President Donald Trump last summer.
As deputy secretary, Censky has three primary responsibilities. He serves as chief executive officer of the agriculture department, overseeing the USDA’s 100,000 employees, $120 billion budget and offices in every county in the nation. He works closely with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to represent the department in Washington, D.C., and across the globe. And he is a key player in shaping ag policy, including the farm bill.
For Censky, the appointment as deputy agriculture secretary last year marked a homecoming of sorts. He worked at the USDA in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, helping to craft the 1990 farm bill and eventually serving as administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service, where he was involved in global trade negotiations and running the nation’s export programs. Between his two assignments at the USDA, he served as CEO of the American Soybean Association for 21 years.
During his Senate confirmation hearings last September, Censky outlined his three top goals as deputy secretary. He said they remain the same today.
The first is to expand market opportunities for farmers and ranchers.
“This includes both domestic and international markets,” he said, something more important now than ever in light of what he termed “unsettled times in trade.”
The second is to help farmers and ranchers become more resilient in the face of changing weather and climate. Key to accomplishing this goal, Cenksy said, is education.
“We need more ag research, to be carried out by our state land-grant universities and extension services, to help farmers prepare for what lies ahead,” he said.
And third is to close what he terms the “digital divide” — the gap in availability of broadband Internet between urban businesses and rural agribusinesses.
“Broadband Internet is necessary and transformative,” Censky said, citing access as critical not only to precision ag technology, but also to rural businesses, rural schools and rural medicine.
Despite much work ahead, Censky is quick to say the future of agriculture is bright.
“I am very optimistic about the future of agriculture,” he said. “It’s getting more high-tech and more sophisticated, and the technology we’re seeing today is going to continue to change it.”
Aside from that, he said, the laws of supply and demand paint a rosy picture for American agriculture.
“We have 7.6 billion people on Earth,” he said. “The United Nations predicts that by 2030, there will be 8.6 billion people and, by 2050, 10 billion people. That’s a lot of mouths to feed. We will have to produce so much more food and do so with less energy and less water. That paints a very bright future for agriculture — especially U.S. agriculture, which is the most efficient in the world.”
Accordingly, Cenksy urges young people — especially those back home in the corner of the world in which he grew up — to pursue a career in agriculture.
“Careers in agriculture today go beyond traditional ag,” he said. “Yes, there are opportunities to go back to the farm, which is great, but there are also opportunities in marketing, veterinary medicine, food and nutrition, biology, agricultural engineering, conservation — even venture capital. More and more venture capital firms are developing into ag-only firms. And there’s more things like that coming. It is an exciting time to pursue a career in agriculture.”
To that end, he encourages young people interested in doing so to take advantage of resources available to them right in their backyards.
“Be involved in 4-H and FFA, Scouts and your church,” he said. “Gain that leadership experience. My involvement in 4-H and FFA was so very critical. It was truly horizon-expanding for me. I am very thankful I had these experiences, and I encourage young people to do the same.”
Censky, deputy secretary of the USDA, grew up on a family farm near Jackson. He attended Jackson public schools and was in 4-H and FFA.
He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as deputy agriculture secretary in October 2017 after being nominated for the post by President Donald Trump last summer.
As deputy secretary, Censky has three primary responsibilities. He serves as chief executive officer of the agriculture department, overseeing the USDA’s 100,000 employees, $120 billion budget and offices in every county in the nation. He works closely with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue to represent the department in Washington, D.C., and across the globe. And he is a key player in shaping ag policy, including the farm bill.
For Censky, the appointment as deputy agriculture secretary last year marked a homecoming of sorts. He worked at the USDA in the Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations, helping to craft the 1990 farm bill and eventually serving as administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service, where he was involved in global trade negotiations and running the nation’s export programs. Between his two assignments at the USDA, he served as CEO of the American Soybean Association for 21 years.
During his Senate confirmation hearings last September, Censky outlined his three top goals as deputy secretary. He said they remain the same today.
The first is to expand market opportunities for farmers and ranchers.
“This includes both domestic and international markets,” he said, something more important now than ever in light of what he termed “unsettled times in trade.”
The second is to help farmers and ranchers become more resilient in the face of changing weather and climate. Key to accomplishing this goal, Cenksy said, is education.
“We need more ag research, to be carried out by our state land-grant universities and extension services, to help farmers prepare for what lies ahead,” he said.
And third is to close what he terms the “digital divide” — the gap in availability of broadband Internet between urban businesses and rural agribusinesses.
“Broadband Internet is necessary and transformative,” Censky said, citing access as critical not only to precision ag technology, but also to rural businesses, rural schools and rural medicine.
Despite much work ahead, Censky is quick to say the future of agriculture is bright.
“I am very optimistic about the future of agriculture,” he said. “It’s getting more high-tech and more sophisticated, and the technology we’re seeing today is going to continue to change it.”
Aside from that, he said, the laws of supply and demand paint a rosy picture for American agriculture.
“We have 7.6 billion people on Earth,” he said. “The United Nations predicts that by 2030, there will be 8.6 billion people and, by 2050, 10 billion people. That’s a lot of mouths to feed. We will have to produce so much more food and do so with less energy and less water. That paints a very bright future for agriculture — especially U.S. agriculture, which is the most efficient in the world.”
Accordingly, Cenksy urges young people — especially those back home in the corner of the world in which he grew up — to pursue a career in agriculture.
“Careers in agriculture today go beyond traditional ag,” he said. “Yes, there are opportunities to go back to the farm, which is great, but there are also opportunities in marketing, veterinary medicine, food and nutrition, biology, agricultural engineering, conservation — even venture capital. More and more venture capital firms are developing into ag-only firms. And there’s more things like that coming. It is an exciting time to pursue a career in agriculture.”
To that end, he encourages young people interested in doing so to take advantage of resources available to them right in their backyards.
“Be involved in 4-H and FFA, Scouts and your church,” he said. “Gain that leadership experience. My involvement in 4-H and FFA was so very critical. It was truly horizon-expanding for me. I am very thankful I had these experiences, and I encourage young people to do the same.”
