Rachel Kippley spends a lot of time on the farm she and her husband own, growing corn and soybeans and raising beef cattle. Since 2015, she’s balanced that with her role as county commissioner. Her background in agriculture gives her a unique perspective on public office. “There are fewer and fewer farmers out there,” she says. “We’re struggling to have the voice of rural agriculture represented. You can see it everywhere from my commission to Washington, D.C.”
Kippley is focused on a diverse set of issues, from infrastructure to alternatives to juvenile detention to economic development. She has traveled to D.C. to represent her state’s agriculture industry and last year she traveled to Taiwan to discuss trade.
Along the way, she’s stayed active on the farm: In 2016, she won her county fair’s Super Farmer competition, a title she successfully defended a year later.
Read about the Women in Government program and the rest of the honorees.
Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.