... The Secretary of Agriculture in Iowa deals with a ton of different things. I went to the SOA website and was shocked to see how little information was on the site. You have to click on current Secretary of Agriculture Patty Judge’s biography for find an in depth menu bar which seems a little odd if you ask me. The main issue in the kampaign is state vs. local control of the siting of livestock operations. O’Brien favors local control. It is her belief that counties should decide what Ag enterprises set-up shop in the local community. Northey supports state standards. Northey has said that the siting of livestock operations should be made at the state level with consideration for local conditions, such as soils types.