TOWNER, N.D. -- Former state senator and Towner rancher Ryan Taylor has been appointed as the North Dakota state director for U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development.
Taylor replaces Jasper Schneider, who stepped down in April.
Taylor served in the state Senate from 2002 to 2012, with three sessions on the Agriculture Committee. He served as Democratic minority leader during his final two years in office and ran for governor in 2012 and state ag commissioner in 2014.
Taylor is a fourth generation rancher in Towner. He graduated from North Dakota State University with bachelor's degrees in agricultural economics and mass communications.
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“Almost no one understands the needs of rural communities better than Ryan,” U.S. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., said in a statement. “Growing up in Towner and continuing to work on his family’s generations-old ranch have given him a deep, personal understanding of the resources and support that can help rural communities across North Dakota thrive. He will be an asset to farmers and ranchers who will know they have someone at USDA Rural Development who is fighting for them and can find federal resources to best suit North Dakota’s needs."
