Shortly after being elected to the Alabama House of Representatives, Danny Crawford expressed interest in serving on the Agriculture and Forestry Committee. Now, three years later, he will chair the committee.

House Speaker Mac McCutcheon recently announced the committee chairs for the 2018-2022 quadrennium. Both McCutcheon and Crawford are members of Limestone County’s legislative delegation — the group of lawmakers elected to represent all or part of Limestone County.

“Each of these members possess specific talents, experiences, knowledge and leadership skills, and we worked hard to match those factors with the committees they fit best,” McCutcheon said in a statement. “The men and women we name today have my full faith and confidence, and I know they will use their chairman positions to help make our already great state even better.”

Crawford previously served as a member of the Agriculture and Forestry Committee. He also served on the Municipal Government, Urban and Rural Development and Health committees. He doesn’t know what committees he’ll continue to serve on next year, as McCutcheon has not yet released a full list of committee assignments.

A 2019 organizational session is set for Jan. 8. The next legislative session begins March 5.

“I think Mac recognized my education, background and experience and knew I would be helpful,” Crawford said. “I hope to be able to see and meet with a lot of people from other parts of the state who have agriculture backgrounds.”

Crawford, who has deep agricultural roots in Limestone County, was tapped in 2001 by then-President George W. Bush to lead the state’s Farm Service Agency. He was raised on the Alabama Agriculture Experiment Station farm in Belle Mina. Most recently, he served as an independent crop insurance contractor.

When asked what his leadership on the committee would mean for local farmers, Crawford said he’ll have a hand in which bills come before the committee and which ones leave the committee and come before the Legislature.

“I’ll know which ones might harm the agriculture in my district, and those would have a hard time getting out of committee,” he said. “That’s an advantage at the local level.”

Crawford described the committee as one of the most important standing committees in the Legislature. It will be co-chaired by Rep. Steve Hurst, R-Munford.

“We’ll be looking at all the (agricultural) concerns that come up around the state,” Crawford said. “It will be a strong committee.”

Crawford served on the Athens City Council from 1993-2005 when Dan Williams was mayor. Williams won election to the fifth district seat in the Alabama House in 2010 and served until his death in 2015. Crawford successfully ran for Williams’ seat, but only after appearing in a special Republican primary, a primary runoff and a special election in February 2016.

Crawford and his wife, Mary Kay, have one son and attend Lindsay Lane Baptist Church.