Gerald Bange, who worked for 43 years at the Department of Agriculture, including 20 as chairman of the World Ag Outlook Board, died Thursday, Jan. 13.
Bange became board chairman in 1994 and retired in 2014.
In that role, he oversaw USDA’s monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, while also working through the digital revolution — transitioning the WAOB from paper reports to electronic copies and increasing the public’s access to the department’s information.
During his tenure as WAOB chair, Bange was a two-time recipient of the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Executive. He also served as program chairperson for USDA's Agricultural Outlook Forum.
Bange joined USDA in 1971 as an agricultural marketing specialist for the Agricultural Research Service and quickly moved up in the department’s leadership.
In 1975, he moved over to the Foreign Agricultural Service to serve as an agricultural economist, later becoming director of the Foreign Production Estimates Division.
In January 1983, he was appointed deputy assistant administrator for International Agricultural Statistics. A few months later, Bange transferred to the World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB) to serve as deputy chairperson,
He was an agricultural economics major from the University of Maryland and completed his Ph.D. in 1975.
Information on funeral arrangements have not yet been made.
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