Wade Dooley (DOO-lee), a 43-year-old Democrat who farms northwest of Marshalltown, is running for state agriculture secretary. He says leadership in Des Moines is too focused on helping big businesses and political insiders.

Dooley, a sixth generation farmer, rotates soybeans and rye on his family’s Century Farm. He also sells cover crop mixes and does custom seeding.

Dooley says he’s running to lead the Iowa Department of Agriculture because while there’s a lot of talk about helping farmers make changes to boost their income — and improve water quality — there’s not a lot of actual support at the state level for it.

Dooley says it’s time to end the blame game about Iowa’s water quality issues and for the Iowa Department of Agriculture to lead the effort to figure out a resolution. Dooley is a graduate of Iowa State University and has served as a board member of Practical Farmers of Iowa. Another Democrat has indicated they’ll run for state ag secretary this year. Chris Jones, an author and retired University of Iowa researcher, is expected to officially launch his campaign later this week. Republican Mike Naig (NEGG, rhymes with “egg) has been serving as State Agriculture Secretary since 2018 and is seeking reelection.

O. Kay Henderson, Radio Iowa