Minnesota / Agriculture Department

Agency file

Agriculture Department

Source file: Minnesota — State Employee Payroll / ingested Jun 18, 2026

The Agriculture Department supports agriculture — farming, food safety, livestock, and rural development programs.

In 2025, this agency had 611 employees with median total compensation of $80,497; the highest distinct record was $178,228.

Year: 2025
Total payroll: $44.2M
Employees: 611
Median total: $80,497
Highest record: $178,228

What the records show

Compensation analytics

These summaries compare pay within the agency before listing individual records.

Salary distribution

$262$144,327+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 611 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($80,497) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $70,980 (98%)
Overtime — $268 (0%)
Other — $1,155 (2%)
Benefits — $0 (0%)

What an average paycheck here is made of — base salary versus overtime, other pay (bonuses, allowances), and benefits. A large overtime or other-pay share means take-home often exceeds base salary.

Pay percentiles

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$7,399

$55,828

$80,497

$97,734

$110,939

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $110,939 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $7,399. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

Agricultural Technician

55 · $4,693

State Program Administrative Principal

40 · $92,505

Agricultural Advisor

39 · $83,785

Agricultural Consultant

36 · $97,736

State Program Administrative Senior

26 · $84,522

The most common job titles in this department by headcount, with the median total compensation for each. Click a title to see everyone who holds it.

Trend

Year over year

How this department's total payroll, headcount, and median pay changed across the 2 published years.

Year	Total payroll	Employees	Median pay
2024	$40.5M —	561 —	$78,246 —
2025	$44.2M ▲ 9.1%	611 ▲ 8.9%	$80,497 ▲ 2.9%

Record list

Employees

Page 1

Luke Bruess

Plant Industry Inspector 1/Agriculture Department

2025 total comp

$30,207

Sub-department: Potato Inspection Staff
Base pay: $30,207
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $30,207
Hire date: 2024-11-06
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 64
Union / bargaining unit: Technical
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Polk

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: B04
Bargaining Unit Number: 207
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Luke Bruess holds the role of Plant Industry Inspector 1 at Agriculture Department within Potato Inspection Staff. Hired in 2024, they have about a year of service as a full-time employee. In 2025, their total compensation was $30,207. They are represented by Technical.

Katie Mikesh

Office & Administrative Specialist Int/Agriculture Department

2025 total comp

$28,742

Sub-department: AMDD Director Staff
Base pay: $27,441
Overtime: $1,302
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $28,742
Hire date: 2014-01-13
Employment type: Part-Time
Pay grade: 61
Union / bargaining unit: Clerical
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 0.6
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: No
Agency Number: B04
Bargaining Unit Number: 206
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Katie Mikesh works as a Office & Administrative Specialist Int for Agriculture Department within Amdd Director Staff. They have served since 2014 (about 11 years) as a part-time, 0.6 FTE employee. Katie earned $28,742 in 2025. They are represented by Clerical.

Denise Thiede

Agricultural Program Supervisor/Agriculture Department

2024 total comp

$28,454

Sub-department: Seed, Weed, Bio-Tech&HempSecMg
Base pay: $13,937
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $14,517
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $28,454
Hire date: 2017-06-12
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 23
Union / bargaining unit: Middle Management Association
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2024: No
Agency Number: B04
Bargaining Unit Number: 216
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Denise Thiede works as a Agricultural Program Supervisor for Agriculture Department within Seed, Weed, Bio-Tech&Hempsecmg. Hired in 2017, they have about 7 years of service as a full-time employee. Denise earned $28,454 in 2024. Union affiliation: Middle Management Association.

Erin Niehoff

Proj Consultant/Agriculture Department

2024 total comp

$28,341

Sub-department: Feed Safety Program Staff
Base pay: $27,696
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $645
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $28,341
Hire date: 2014-06-18
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 11
Union / bargaining unit: MN Assoc of Professional Empl
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2024: No
Agency Number: B04
Bargaining Unit Number: 214
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Erin Niehoff is a Proj Consultant at Agriculture Department within Feed Safety Program Staff. Hired in 2014, they have about 10 years of service, working full-time. 2024 total compensation came to $28,341. They are represented by MN Assoc of Professional Empl.

Emily Seaser

Soil Scientist 1/Agriculture Department

2024 total comp

$27,776

Sub-department: Incident Response Unit Staff
Base pay: $27,190
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $586
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $27,776
Hire date: 2022-06-22
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 7
Union / bargaining unit: MN Assoc of Professional Empl
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2024: No
Agency Number: B04
Bargaining Unit Number: 214
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Emily Seaser works as a Soil Scientist 1 for Agriculture Department within Incident Response Unit Staff. They have served since 2022 (about 2 years) as a full-time employee. Emily earned $27,776 in 2024. Union affiliation: MN Assoc of Professional Empl.

Logan Schumacher

Communications Specialist 2/Agriculture Department

2025 total comp

$27,643

Sub-department: Communications Staff
Base pay: $25,959
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $1,684
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $27,643
Hire date: 2022-12-21
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 11
Union / bargaining unit: MN Assoc of Professional Empl
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: No
Agency Number: B04
Bargaining Unit Number: 214
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Agriculture Department, Logan Schumacher serves as a Communications Specialist 2 within Communications Staff. Hired in 2022, they have about 3 years of service, working full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $27,643. Union affiliation: MN Assoc of Professional Empl.

Matthew Gallo

State Program Administrative Principal/Agriculture Department

2025 total comp

$26,006

Sub-department: Plant Pest Reg/ Mit Prog staff
Base pay: $26,006
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $26,006
Hire date: 2025-01-02
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 14
Union / bargaining unit: MN Assoc of Professional Empl
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: No
Agency Number: B04
Bargaining Unit Number: 214
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Matthew Gallo is a State Program Administrative Principal at Agriculture Department within Plant Pest Reg/ Mit Program Staff. Their tenure dates to 2025, under a year, working full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $26,006. They are represented by MN Assoc of Professional Empl.

Krystal Jankowski

Student Worker Paraprofessional Professional/Agriculture Department

2025 total comp

$25,496

Sub-department: Domestic Markets Staff
Base pay: $22,057
Overtime: $2,920
Other pay: $520
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $25,496
Hire date: 2023-12-20
Employment type: Part-Time
Pay grade: 53
Union / bargaining unit: Technical
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 0.4
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: No
Agency Number: B04
Bargaining Unit Number: 207
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Unclassified
Classified Status: Unclassified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Agriculture Department, Krystal Jankowski serves as a Student Worker Paraprofessional Professional within Domestic Markets Staff. Their tenure dates to 2023, about 2 years, working part-time, 0.4 FTE. Their 2025 pay totaled $25,496. Their bargaining unit is Technical.

Lorraine Englund

Office & Administrative Specialist Int/Agriculture Department

2025 total comp

$25,112

Sub-department: Operations Unit Staff
Base pay: $14,292
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $10,820
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $25,112
Hire date: 1985-02-04
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 61
Union / bargaining unit: Clerical
Pay basis: Hourly
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: No
Agency Number: B04
Bargaining Unit Number: 206
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

At Agriculture Department, Lorraine Englund serves as a Office & Administrative Specialist Int within Operations Unit Staff. Hired in 1985, they have about 40 years of service, working full-time. Their 2025 pay totaled $25,112. Their bargaining unit is Clerical.

Kaylee Ignaszewski

Livestock Weigher 1/Agriculture Department

2025 total comp

$24,943

Sub-department: D&M Livestock Staff
Base pay: $21,838
Overtime: $2,236
Other pay: $869
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $24,943
Hire date: 2023-03-01
Employment type: Intermittent
Pay grade: 60
Union / bargaining unit: Service
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 0.4
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: No
Agency Number: B04
Bargaining Unit Number: 203
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Kaylee Ignaszewski is a Livestock Weigher 1 at Agriculture Department within D&M Livestock Staff. They have served since 2023 (about 2 years), working intermittent, 0.4 FTE. 2025 total compensation came to $24,943. They are represented by Service.

Samuel Fryer

State Program Administrative Intermediate/Agriculture Department

2025 total comp

$24,582

Sub-department: MAWQC Technical Staff
Base pay: $24,582
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $24,582
Hire date: 2025-01-02
Employment type: Intermittent
Pay grade: 7
Union / bargaining unit: MN Assoc of Professional Empl
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 0.75
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: Yes
Agency Number: B04
Bargaining Unit Number: 214
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Samuel Fryer holds the role of State Program Administrative Intermediate at Agriculture Department within Mawqc Technical Staff. Hired in 2025, they have under a year of service as a intermittent, 0.75 FTE employee. In 2025, their total compensation was $24,582. Their bargaining unit is MN Assoc of Professional Empl.

Mary Horvath

State Program Administrative Senior/Agriculture Department

2025 total comp

$24,332

Sub-department: Manufactured Food Prog Staff
Base pay: $6,419
Overtime: $6
Other pay: $17,908
Benefits: $0
Total compensation: $24,332
Hire date: 1999-04-26
Employment type: Full-Time
Pay grade: 10
Union / bargaining unit: MN Assoc of Professional Empl
Pay basis: Hourly
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 1
Work county: Ramsey

Source-specific fields

Active on June 30, 2025: No
Agency Number: B04
Bargaining Unit Number: 214
Branch: Executive
Branch Code: Executive
Classified Code: Classified
Classified Status: Classified
Compensation Frequency Code: Hourly

Mary Horvath is a State Program Administrative Senior at Agriculture Department within Manufactured Food Program Staff. Their tenure dates to 1999, about 26 years, working full-time. 2025 total compensation came to $24,332. Their bargaining unit is MN Assoc of Professional Empl.