Shawn Jasper's agriculture roots are in the poultry industry where he grew up and worked in the prominent family business, Jasper Poultry Farms, begun by his grandparents and continued by his parents. The farm at one point was the third largest poultry operation in New Hampshire during a time when poultry was big business in the state. Jasper operated the farm from 1979-83 before he transitioned the business to property management and residential storage.

Jasper is a 1977 graduate of Alvirne High School in Hudson, where he was a member of the Future Farmers of America (FFA). He holds the State Farmers Degree and is a life member of the FFA Alumni Association. He has remained active in the organization, serving as a judge at many conventions over the years. He currently serves as a member of the Farm Advisory Committee at Alvirne.

Jasper is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire with an Associate's Degree in Business Administration. He joined the agricultural fraternity, Alpha Gamma Rho (AGR), while a student and has maintained his agricultural connection by serving as advisor to Alpha Gamma Rho on the University of New Hampshire campus, since 1988. He has travelled with undergraduate members to every AGR National Convention since 1984.

Jasper was a selectman in the town of Hudson for 17 years. He has also served for many years as a member of the Town Budget Committee. He has served 12 terms in the New Hampshire House of Representatives since his first election in 1984. He was elected Speaker of the House in 2014, a post he held until his resignation in 2017, to become Commissioner of Agriculture.

Jasper hopes to travel the state early in his tenure as Commissioner to meet with members of the New Hampshire agricultural industry and listen to their ideas and concerns. Jasper is the seventh person to hold the position of commissioner since the department's establishment in 1913.