(Des Moines) Earlier this month, the United States Senate approved longtime Farmer, and Businessman Glen Smith of Atlantic as the Under Secretary for Rural Development within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. On Friday, August 21, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, swore in Smith during a ceremony at the Iowa State Fair.
Serving for the U.S. Government is not new to Glen Smith. He was designated FCA board chairman and CEO of the Farm Credit Administration by President Donald Trump on July 17, 2019. He served in this position until Oct. 21, 2022. Mr. Smith has been a member of the FCA board since December 2017.
Smith was nominated by President Trump to the second-tier cabinet position one year ago. The position he now holds is in rural development, the second-largest area in the USDA.
Rural Development has an annual financial footprint of over one quarter of a trillion dollars in the form of grants, loans, and technical assistance, ranging from fire trucks to wastewater systems to water systems closer to home. SWIPCO is related to rural development funds.
Smith says another arm of the USDA’s rural development is business. Smith says he recently visited a plant in western Iowa where they are creating natural fertilizer out of food by-products.
Smith says there are 400 offices across the country; Iowa has 7, including one in Atlantic, Cass County.
Smith will tour Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Farm Progress Show in Iowa before returning to Washington, D.C. He thanked President Trump for the confidence placed in him and said he looks forward to the challenge ahead.
In 1982, Smith and his wife, Fauzan, moved back to Atlantic and started farming and developing his ag service business. Today, their family farm, Smith Generation Farms Inc., has grown to encompass about 2,000 acres devoted to corn, soybeans, hay, and a small beef cow herd.
The Smiths have four grown children and six grandchildren. Three of their children are directly involved in production agriculture. Their son Peter has assumed managerial responsibilities for both the family farm and business.
(Photo is courtesy of LindaRobinson, sister of Glen Smith)
