Forest City, IA – July 7, 2021: Rural Development Partners (RDP) is pleased to welcome Bill Northey to the Governing Board. Bill and his wife, Cindy, reside in the Des Moines area where he serves as Principal at WHNorthey LLC, providing agriculture consulting in conservation and sustainability. From 2018-2021, Bill served as Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He led the USDA’s FPAC mission in Natural Resources Conservation Service, Risk Management Agency, Farm Service Agency, and the FPAC Business Center. Prior to this appointment, he was elected to three terms as Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture (2007-2018), leading the Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship through 12 diverse bureaus that promote agricultural products, ensure consumer protection, and conserve Iowa’s soil and water. From 2002-2018, Northey was a Roundtable Member of the Farm Foundation, and from 1981-2017 a fourth-generation farmer, owning and operating Northey Farms in Spirit Lake (IA).
Bill served as president/chairman of the National Corn Growers Association where he led several committees. He served in multiple county and state Farm Bureau offices as president and vice president, as committee chairman for Dickinson County Farm Bureau, and named a “Friend of Agriculture” by the Iowa Farm Bureau Political Action Committee in 2006. Other agencies served include the Iowa USDA Farm Service Agency State Committee, Commissioner of Dickinson County Soil and Water Conservation District, board member of Ag Ventures Alliance (controlling entity for RDP), and co-founder/president of Innovative Growers, LLC, an organization hatched from ISU Extension Leadership.
Northey graduated from Iowa State University with a BA in agri-business, later earning his MBA from Southwest Minnesota State. Bill’s vast experience as an active and valued leader at county, state, and national levels will greatly help Rural Development Partners create quality jobs and spur catalytic economic development in underserved rural communities throughout America.
About RDP: Rural Development Partners’ mission is to forge public-private partnerships for catalytic job growth in rural America. RDP is a Community Development Entity (CDE) with a nationwide service area, eligible to apply for an annual allocation of Federal New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs). From 2004 through 2020, RDP has won nine NMTC awards from the U.S. Treasury totaling $606.7 million. RDP works to combine NMTCs with bank loans and tax credit investors to create more favorable financing solutions than are available through conventional lending and investing. Visit our IMPACT page and follow us on FaceBook and LinkedIn to learn how Rural Development Partners is using NMTCs to bring revitalization to distressed communities across the nation.
