William Howard Northey (May 27, 1959 – February 5, 2024) was an American politician who served as the Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation in the United States Department of Agriculture from 2018 to 2021.

[1] A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the Secretary of Agriculture of Iowa, first elected on November 7, 2006, and sworn in on January 2, 2007.

Northey graduated from Iowa State University with an undergraduate degree in agricultural business in 1981 and was a member of the FarmHouse fraternity, serving as its president during his senior year.

[5] Northey also served on the Iowa USDA Farm Service Agency State Committee, was a Dickinson County Soil and Water Conservation District Commissioner, and was a board member of Ag Ventures Alliance.

The creation of the new mission area prompted the realignment of several agencies under a newly named Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC), the position which Northey held until 2021.