New Mexico Department of Agriculture
Secretary
Website: https://nmdeptag.nmsu.edu/ Social Media:
About:
Jeff Witte comes from a ranching family in northern New Mexico. He graduated from New Mexico State University with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business management and a master’s degree in agricultural economics and economics.
Jeff was named the director/secretary of the New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA) in 2011. He is past president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), past president of the Western Association of State Departments of Agriculture, past president of the Western United States Agriculture Trade Association, and past chair of NASDA’s Natural Resources, Pesticide Management & Environment Committee. Jeff was appointed to the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Local Government Advisory Committee in 2015 and currently chairs its Healthy Communities work group. The committee provides advice and recommendations to the EPA Administrator to assist in developing a stronger partnership with local governments.
In 2020, Jeff was appointed by EPA as a new member of the Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Committee, on which he will serve until June 2023. The committee provides independent policy advice, information and recommendations to the EPA regarding environmental issues and policies that are of importance to agriculture and rural communities. He was appointed to the USDA Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics in 2020. The purpose of the committee is to advise the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and the National Agricultural Statics Service on the conduct of agricultural censuses and surveys. He also became a member of the NMSU Agriculture Modernization Advisory Committee and vice chair of the NASDA Natural Resources and Environment Committee in 2021.
Jeff is married to Janet, and they have a son (Jeremy) and daughter (Jennifer).
