Idaho Department of Agriculture Director Celia Gould
Celia Gould was appointed Director of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture in January 2007, the first woman to hold this position since the Department was established in 1919.
It’s a massive job: she provides leadership to six divisions and one bureau dedicated to agriculture – which is the single largest contributor to our state’s economy and accounts for 20% of Idaho’s gross state product every year.
Celia came by her knowledge of agriculture the old fashioned way: she was born into a farming and ranching family.
She grew up doing chores, going to the auction with her grandpa, and listening to tense discussions around the kitchen table during tough times. She shares the joy we find in baby calves, straight rows, and ponds and canals full of water.
Celia is the third-generation owner/operator of G+ Ranches of Buhl, Idaho, where they produce wheat, corn, hay, Black Angus and Angus-Wagyu cattle. Celia and her husband, Bruce Newcomb, also have a beef operation in the Declo area.
Prior to serving at ISDA, Celia spent 16 years in the Idaho House of Representatives. She has held leadership positions in agriculture at the local, state and national level and has worked tirelessly for all of us committed to Idaho’s working lands, and who provide our industry’s essential goods and services.
She’s a member of numerous organizations, including the Idaho Cattle Association. She has also earned the respect of her fellow producers – and her professional colleagues – chosen by the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture as Chairman of the Natural Resources & Environment Committee.
For 13 years, we in Eastern Idaho, and across this state, have have been able to rely upon Celia to thoughtfully consider the needs of producers and agribusinesses when making decisions and taking positions that affect us. At the state and the national level, she is both a voice and a shield for producers and agribusinesses in our state.
Celia respectful of Idaho’s Ag heritage and enthusiastic about its future horizons.
Director Gould received a plaque commemorating her induction into the Eastern Idaho Agriculture Hall of Fame, letters of congratulation from Senator Mike Crapo and Senator Jim Risch, and a copy of the United States Congressional Record of Mike Simpson’s speech congratulating Celia on her induction. (The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session).