Meet the candidates
NDFB elections will be held on November 22 at the 83rd NDFB Annual Meeting, Holiday Inn in Fargo. Here is a closer look at each of the candidates.
President
The NDFB President position is elected by the delegate body at the annual meeting every two years. Candidates must either be current NDFB Board of Directors members or must have served on the state board in the past.
Coming soon! Look for blog posts from each of the presidential candidates, explaining their reasons for running and sharing their backgrounds. The links will be shared on this page.
Val Wagner is from Monango, N.D. She and her husband, Mark, have four children. They raise corn, soybeans, wheat, and alfalfa, as well as a Simmental/Red Angus cross commercial cow/calf herd. She has served on both the state and national Farm Bureau Promotion and Education Committee and the Young Farmer and Rancher Committee. She was elected to the District 3 NDFB Board of Directors position in 2020 and elected as NDFB Vice President in 2023.
Lucas Lang is from Sterling, N.D. He and his wife, Heather, have three children and raise a variety of small grains and row crops, with a focus on winter rye, corn, beans, and feed barley. The Langs also run a farrow-to-fork hog farm, focusing on heritage breed pork and direct-to-consumer sales. Lucas has served on the Burleigh County Farm Bureau board as president and vice president, and was also the District 7 representative on the NDFB YF&R Committee from 2008-2011. He was elected to the NDFB Board representing District 7 in 2017.
Vice President
The NDFB Vice President is elected by the delegate body at the annual meeting every two years. Candidates must be current members of the NDFB Board of Directors.
John Jacobson is from Hatton, N.D. He and his wife, Stacey, have three children. They have a cow/calf operation and a backgrounding feedlot and raise small grains, edible beans, soybeans, corn, and alfalfa.
John was active on the Traill County Farm Bureau Board as vice president prior to his election to the NDFB Board of Directors representing District 2 in 2024. He got involved in volunteer services because he believes giving back to your industry and community makes a real difference. He is on the Hatton School Board, the Newburgh Township Board and on the Hatton Fire Department.
District elections
The NDFB State Board is comprised of a director from each of the nine Farm Bureau districts in the state. Each director is elected to a three-year term and is eligible to be re-elected for two additional three-year terms. Directors are elected during district caucuses held prior to the presidential and vice presidential elections.
District 1
Craig Vaughn is from Cavalier, N.D. He has served as the District 1 NDFB Director since 2019. He and his wife, Kelly, have two children. They raise corn, wheat, soybeans, field peas, and alfalfa. They also raise purebred Limousin cattle. Craig has served on the NDFB Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee and the American Farm Bureau Federation YF&R Committee. He is also a member of the Cavalier City Council.
He says he got involved in volunteer Farm Bureau service because "Farm Bureau is the most effective grassroots ag organization in the country. I want to give back to the organization that has given so much to me."
District 5
Tim Schoenhard is from Steele, N.D., and has served as the District 5 Director on the NDFB Board since 2020. Tim and his wife, Kaylene, have two children. They have a commercial cow-calf herd and also raise and sell registered Quarter Horses. Tim is a past Trinity Lutheran Council member and a past Kidder County Farm Bureau President. In addition to serving on the state board, he is also the Kidder County Fairboard President and a member of the Kidder County Sportsmen's Board of Directors.
Tim says he got involved in Farm Bureau volunteer service because, "I wanted to be part of an organization that promotes and protects the ag industry and lifestyle through grassroots policy development. I pride myself on listening to those I serve and working to ensure their voices are heard by those who can make a direct impact."
Jason Topp is from Grace City, N.D., and currently serves as the Foster County Farm Bureau President. He and his wife, Rami, have three children and grow corn, soybeans, pinto beans, spring wheat, durum, and organic crops. They also have a commercial cow-calf herd and background their own calves. Jason is the treasurer of his church and serves as President of the Midkota Public Schools Foundation.
Jason got involved in Farm Bureau around 15 years ago, "Because I was drawn to the fact that they are a broad-based farm organization that supports the entirety of the production ag system and isn't focused on any one commodity or sector."
District 6
Brian Nordmark is from Bottineau, N.D. He has served as the NDFB District 6 Board Representative since 2022. He has one child. Brian farms wheat, soybeans, canola, sunflowers, durum, barley, and flax. He and his girlfriend, Tasha Gorentz, also raise cows, sheep, chickens, and horses.
Brian is involved in the Bottineau County Ag Improvement Association, N.D. Young Republicans and Sons of Liberty.
A fellow county member asked him to serve, and "having been an NDFB member for decades, I was glad to volunteer my time to help NDFB protect the future of the agriculture community."