Prominent no-tiller, National No-Tillage Conference speaker and soon-to-be No-Till Innovator honoree Jimmy Emmons — whose journey to restore soil health has been well documented in No-Till Farmer — is being considered for the Secretary of Agriculture post. 

Emmons said in a LinkedIn post Sunday he was “very honored and excited” about the opportunity should it come to fruition. “We are at a critical time for our soil, food and human health. We welcome the challenge before us at USDA if we get the opportunity.”

In a Twitter post this weekend, Emmons added, “We need change with common sense and practicality,” and he asked farmers, colleagues and ag stakeholders to express their support for his candidacy via phone, email and social media.

Sources said a decision on the USDA top job is expected Monday or sometime early this week. Comments shared on Twitter suggested Emmons had also been in line this year for a top job at the NRCS.

Emmons, owner of Emmons Farms and Emmons Ventures, served as an undersecretary at the USDA during president-elected Donald Trump’s first term. He is currently Vice President of Climate Smart Agriculture Programs at Trust in Food and has served with No-Till in the Plains, Oklahoma Conservation Commission and Oklahoma Assn. of Conservation Districts. 

Emmons is scheduled to be a major voice at NNTC this January in Louisville, Ky., where he is being honored as a No-Till Innovator for Crop Production and will be speaking during a special pre-conference workshop and during the main educational sessions. 

Emmons’ name hadn’t been mentioned in the media this past week as a potential candidate for Ag Secretary. But prominent movers and shakers in conservation agriculture in the U.S. are throwing their support behind Emmons, who no-tills crops and raises livestock near Leedey in western Oklahoma. 

He’s known for his trademark phrase “Long Live the Soil” and has spent many years working to improve soil health on his farm after decades of tillage being practiced on the ground. He was just featured in the December edition of No-Till Farmer, sharing how he improved water infiltration on his challenging soils. 

“Jimmy is winning awards from conservative agricultural groups as well as environmental groups. The regenerative agriculture principles that folks like Jimmy follow are protecting people, planet, and PROFITS,” said Bryan Hummel, a watershed protection expert for the EPA in Texas.

“Jimmy has increased his soil infiltration rates by 700-1,400% and by soaking up the rain into his soil profile this helps mitigate drought, wildfire, and flooding. Improving soil health helps protect downstream communities from flooding by converting flooding liabilities into biologically filtered groundwater assets.“

“I've known Jimmy for 2 decades, and he's the epitome of a public servant who understands the direction the USDA should go,” said Steve Groff, a long-time Holtwood, Pa. no-tiller, cover crop expert and conservation influencer in the U.S. and abroad. 

University of Maryland soil science professor Ray Weil said Emmons would be a great choice as well. “He is decent, visionary, practical, and an effective communicator. And, of course, he understands the value of healthy soils. It would be an honor to work him in any capacity.”

“America ag needs changing as much as all other facets of our government and society. Jimmy Emmons would be a great change agent for American ag as the next Secretary of Agriculture,” said Keith Berns, co-owner of Green Cover Seed. “He is a leader who has real farming experience, a passion for the land and really cares about the farmers.”

Whoever fills the Secretary of Agriculture role will likely face pressure for transformative change in how the USDA operates. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been nominated to lead the U.S Department of Health and Human Services and been pushing his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda that would likely to lead to greater scrutiny of the country’s food and drug regulations.

Among other things, advocates for Kennedy’s reforms point to a doubling of obesity in Americans since 1990. Regenerative farming practices – including reduced tillage, no-till, cover crops, biologicals and other practices – have been more closely viewed as part of the solution toward improving public health through healthier food.

But critics are concerned Kennedy’s focus could lead to unfavorable policies toward the use GMO crops and traditional pesticides in food production.