Jeff Witte comes from a ranching family in northern New Mexico and grew up on his family’s ranch on the Rowe Mesa between Moriarty and Las Vegas, New Mexico. He graduated from New Mexico State University (NMSU) with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business management and a master’s degree in agricultural economics and economics.
After college, Jeff worked for the New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau, representing farmers and ranchers in northern New Mexico and during legislative discussions in Santa Fe. During that time, he helped strengthen collaboration among agricultural organizations across the state and was instrumental in establishing Ag Fest, an annual event highlighting the diversity of New Mexico agriculture for legislators and their staff.
Jeff first joined the New Mexico Department of Agriculture (NMDA) in 1994, serving for nine years as assistant director alongside Director/Secretary Frank DuBois. During that time, he helped establish the New Mexico Agricultural Leadership Program, which develops leaders within the state’s food, agriculture and natural resource sectors.
He later served as director of the Office of Agricultural Biosecurity for NMDA and NMSU and founded the Southwest Border Food Safety and Defense Center at NMSU, working with industry and government partners to strengthen agricultural protection and food defense efforts.
Jeff was named New Mexico’s fifth permanent Director/Secretary of Agriculture in 2011. He is past president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), past president of the Western Association of State Departments of Agriculture, past president of the Western United States Agricultural Trade Association, and currently chairs NASDA’s Natural Resources and Environment Committee.
In 2015, Jeff was appointed to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Local Government Advisory Committee, where he served as vice chair and chaired the Healthy Communities Work Group through December 2024. He was also appointed by EPA in 2020 to the Farm, Ranch, and Rural Communities Committee and currently served through November 2025. In the same year, he was appointed to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Advisory Committee on Agriculture Statistics and also leads the NASDA and NASS modernization steering committee.
Jeff spends much of his time traveling throughout New Mexico meeting with farmers, ranchers and agricultural organizations while working with legislators and partners on issues impacting agriculture and rural communities across the state.
Jeff and his wife, Janet, live in the Mesilla Valley. They have two adult children and a granddaughter.