The first Native American to be named national Farm Service Agency Administrator hails from South Dakota. Rancher Zach Ducheneaux runs a 250-head cattle and quarter horse operation on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in north central South Dakota. He was also executive director for the Intertribal Agriculture Council. In an exclusive interview with WNAX Radio, Ducheneaux says he’s proud to make history in this role and hopes to use his experience in improving Reservation economies through agriculture to help the entire industry.
He has worked extensively to reinvent ag finance to better serve Indian Country and hopes to use that experience to make FSA guaranteed loans more effective. He says FSA programs also need to be targeted towards producers with the greatest need.
Ducheneaux supports the Biden Administration’s focus on climate change and hopes in his role as FSA Administrator to work on mitigation strategies that can benefit agriculture.
Ducheneaux will start his new job on Monday.
