Bergland was born near Roseau, Minnesota, the son of Mabel (Evans) and Selmer Bennett Bergland, a garage mechanic.[1][2] He studied agriculture at the University of Minnesota in a two-year program.[3] A farmer, he became an official of the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service for the Department of Agriculture from 1963 to 1968.[4][3]
On January 22, 1977, Bergland resigned from the House shortly after the beginning of a new term, and was appointed by PresidentJimmy Carter as Secretary of Agriculture and served from January 23, 1977, until January 20, 1981.[6]
A minor but much-celebrated struggle between the United States Department of Agriculture and the General Services Administration occurred during his tenure, resulting in the ironic dedication of the USDA executive cafeteria in honor of Alferd Packer in order to shame the General Services Administration into terminating the Nixon-era cafeteria services contract.[4][7]
Post-Agricultural career
Following the end of the Carter administration in 1981, Bergland became the chairman of Farmland World Trade until 1982, when he became the vice president and general manager of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.[1] In the latter capacity, Bergland lobbied both Congress and the regulatory agencies on behalf of the Cooperative's electricity business.[3]
He married Helen Elaine Grahn in 1950.[10] They had seven children.[10] Bergland died on December 9, 2018, at a nursing home in Roseau at the age of 90.[1][11]
