Farm Hands West: York tapped as CEO of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement

Tim York has been tapped as the new CEO of the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement, effective Dec. 1. York succeeds Scott Horsfall, who is retiring in early 2021. Horsfall has been the CEO since LGMA was established in 2007. York was formerly the president of Markon Cooperative, a produce procurement operation. York serves on the board of the Center for Produce Safety as well co-chair of the Produce Traceability Initiative.

Brooke Becker has been promoted to sales director at Mission Produce. Becker joined Mission’s sales department as a sales representative in 2011 and was then promoted to key account manager in 2017.

Vertical farming company, Plenty, has selected Ann Livermore and Bill Johnson to sit on its board of directors. Livermore brings 29 years of experience of working for Hewlett-Packard. She retired in 2011, but continues as a Hewlett-Packer Enterprise Co. board member. Johnson brings 31 years of experience working in various roles at Heinz, most recently as president and CEO. 

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has reorganized the agency and created four new operating divisions: Division of Data, Market Participants Division, Legal Division, and Division of Administration. The changes will take effect Nov. 8. Tamara Roust will serve as the Chief Data Officer and lead the Division of Data. Dan Bucsa, current chief of staff to Commissioner Dawn DeBerry Stump, who formerly led the Division of Market Oversight’s data and reporting branch, will join the Division of Data as deputy director. Joshua Sterling, current director of the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight, will lead the new Market Participants Division. Daniel Davis, CFTC’s current General Counsel, will lead the Legal Division. Anthony Thompson, the CFTC’s current executive director, will lead the Division of Administration.

Nestlé Purina PetCare Co. has tapped Nina Leigh Krueger to serve as the company’s new president and CEO, effective Jan. 1. Krueger previously was the president of Nestlé Purina PetCare U.S. She succeeds Joseph Sivewright, who will transition to his new role of chairman.

Peggy Yih has been named managing director of the Global Food and Agriculture Program at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. For the last 15 years, she served in various capacities at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., most recently as the senior program officer with the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources.

DaNita Murray has left the Senate Ag Committee and has joined the Glover Park Group as managing director of the food and agriculture team. Murray previously served on the Senate Ag Committee as chief counsel and policy director of the committee. She worked on many issues including: nutrition, forestry, pesticides, horticulture, hemp, organics, biotechnology, regulatory reform, trade and agricultural defense. Before joining the Senate Ag Committee, she served as counsel for the House Agriculture Committee and also held various roles at the Department of Agriculture. 

Jennifer Coleman has been brought on to the Aimpoint Research team as the new director of communications. The Kentucky native previously worked for the Ohio Soybean Association, most recently as the director of communications.

Clint Rivers, president and CEO of Wayne Farms LLC, has been installed for a second term as 2020-2021 chairman of the National Chicken Council (NCC). Mark Kaminsky, COO of Koch Foods, was selected as vice chairman. Kevin Garland, CEO of Mountaire Farms, was elected to serve as Secretary-Treasurer. Mike Brown was elected to a 10th term as president of NCC.

Oregon Governor Kate Brown has appointed Elin Miller and Josh Zielinski to serve on the Oregon State Board of Agriculture, for four-year terms. The governor also re-appointed board members Bryan Harper and Luisa Santamaria each to a second four-year term. Miller and her husband own Umpqua Vineyards and farm hazelnuts. She currently serves as the co-chair of the Oregon Wine Council and is a member of the Fall Creek Farm and Nursery Board. Zielinski is a manager and owner of a mid-sized nursery and farming operation in the Willamette Valley. Zielinski serves on the Oregon Association of Nurseries' board and the Chemeketa Community College Horticultural Advisory Committee.

The National FFA Organization has elected six new officers to serve for the 2020-21 year. Elected as the national president is Doster Harper. He is from the state of Georgia and currently attends the University of Georgia, majoring in agriscience and environmental systems. Anna Mathis is from the state of Arkansas and attends the University of Arkansas where she is studying agricultural communications. She was elected as the national secretary. Elected central region vice president and from the state of Missouri is Paxton Dahmer, an agricultural education and leadership major at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Miriam Hoffman, an agribusiness economics major at Southern Illinois University, was elected eastern region vice president. David Lopez, an agricultural communications major at California Polytechnic State, was elected western region vice president. From the state of Florida, Artha Jonassaint, a government and global health major at Harvard, was elected southern region vice president. 

The American Butter Association has selected Marshall Reece, Associated Milk Producers Inc. senior vice president of sales and marketing, as the new president of the American Butter Institute. Serving as vice president is Catherine Fox of Land O’Lakes and serving as first vice president is Mark Armon of Darigold.

A world-class plant breeder from Loveland, Colo., Joe Allen Smith, passed away on Oct. 21 due to a severe weather event that occurred while fishing in Idaho. He was 70. Smith is known for his contributions of releasing over 60 commercial wheat varieties for both the U.S. and western Canada. Throughout his 40-year career, Smith was dedicated to studying the wheat plant to find the right combination of traits: short stature, good disease resistance, and combination of high protein and high yield. His dedication and study produced the top two spring wheat varieties in North Dakota for the past five years.

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