"Iowa: Creating Healthy Soils, Clean Water & Rural Development."

Craig Lang, a Poweshiek County dairy farmer who has served as president of the Iowa Farm Bureau Financial during one of its most-challenging eras, is a Republican candidate for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture. He and his two sons, who are the family’s sixth generation of farmers, milk a 700-head dairy herd, farm 1,200 acres and run a cow/calf beef operation.

Lang was one of the longest serving leaders of both the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, where he served as president from 2001 through 2011, and the FBL Financial Group, where he served as chairman of the board for a concurrent term. He also was chairman of the Grow Iowa Values Fund and, under Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, vice chair of the Iowa Economic Development Board.

In addition to being a family farmer, Lang is president of The Prairie Strategy Group, a company engaged in identifying and solving complex challenges in food production, policy and logistics. Lang is recognized nationally and internationally as a consultant for rural economic development, consensus and opportunity building.  He and his wife, Mary, have four grown children and three grandchildren.