Brad Thykeson was appointed by the Trump Administration to serve as the state executive director of the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) in North Dakota in June 2025. 

Thykeson returns to FSA where he previously served as the state executive director for North Dakota during President Trump’s first term.

Thykeson is a life-long resident of Steele County, North Dakota, where he grew up on his family farm. 

A farmer himself, Thykeson has held agricultural leadership roles on both the state and national levels. He is a past president of the North Dakota Grain Growers Association and has served on the National Wheat Growers Board and the American Farm Bureau Wheat Advisory Committee. He most recently served as director of the North Dakota Soybean Growers Association.

He graduated with a degree in business education and mathematics from Mayville State University. 

Thykeson and his wife, Karla, live on the farm his grandfather homesteaded. They have three children, Greg, Ross and Stephani, and 12 grandchildren. He has been farming for over 42 years, growing wheat, corn, soybeans and edible beans. He farmed 25 of those years alongside his father and currently operates with his two sons. In his free time, Thykeson enjoys sports, boating, traveling and flying.