Bernardo Calvo has joined Sun World International as president and chief operating officer. He brings more than 25 years of experience in the global agricultural industry, most recently serving as president of Bayer's Crop Science business in Latin America. In his new role at Sun World, Calvo will be responsible for leading the company's global operations and driving growth across its portfolio of fresh fruit brands.
The Department of Agriculture has brought on three individuals to hold senior staff positions. Eric Womack has been named deputy general counsel in the Office of General Counsel. Womack most recently served on detail as an associate counsel for the Litigation Group in the White House Counsel’s Office. Brian Sowyrda is now the director of external affairs in the Office of Congressional Relations. Sowyrda previously served as chief of staff for Rep. Yadira Caraveo, D-Colo., and before that for former Rep. Xochitl Torres Small, D-N.M. Elaine Trevino has been appointed associate administrator in the Foreign Agricultural Service. Trevino most recently served on detail to the Department of Transportation. In that position, she helped address bottlenecks to improve the movement of U.S. exports and imports with a focus on agriculture. She also previously served as president of the Almond Alliance of California.
Nobuyuki Ishii has been tapped as Kubota North America’s new CEO and senior managing executive officer of the Kubota Corporation (KBT). Todd Stucke has been moved over to serve as president of Kubota Tractor Corporation (KTC) and executive officer of KBT. Both appointments will go into effect on Jan. 1 and succeed Shingo Hanada, who has been promoted to director and senior managing executive officer of the Kubota Corporation in Japan.
Steph Carlson, NPPCSteph Carlson has accepted the position of assistant vice president of state and national relations with the National Pork Producers Council, based in Des Moines, Iowa. Carlson has been working for Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, on Capitol Hill as the deputy legislative director and policy adviser. Before that, she worked for Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and previously was the producer outreach and federal policy director at the Iowa Pork Producers Association.
Salaam Bhatti has been named the new Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program director of the Food Research and Action Center. He brings 11 years of experience in social justice, public benefits, and human rights. Bhatti previously served as a public benefits attorney and deputy director of the Virginia Poverty Law Center, where he specialized in public benefits law.
Angela Anandappa has been selected to take over the role of executive director of the Animal Digestible Food Packaging Initiative, effective Jan. 1. She is currently the CEO of the Alliance for Advanced Sanitation.
Lanon Baccam has announced his candidacy for Iowa’s 3rd House district seat, challenging incumbent Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa. Baccam, who will be running as a Democrat, worked at the Department of Agriculture as the deputy chief of staff and was also the military veteran liaison. He worked on President Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign as deputy state director in Iowa. When he was 17 years old, he enrolled in the Iowa National Guard and served as a combat engineer in Afghanistan.
Western Caucus Chairman Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., has added Taylor Tougaw to his team as a policy adviser covering the energy, mining, renewables, research and development, permitting, and public lands portfolios. Tougaw is a Colorado native and previously worked for Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo. He received two undergraduate degrees from Colorado State University before going on to earn a Master’s degree from the University of Newcastle, UK.
Taylor Tougaw, Western CaucusUSDA has announced the appointment of four new farmer-leaders to serve on the United Soybean Board. The new appointees include Charles W. Atkinson, Kansas; Mary Archer Stewart, Maryland; Kyle Durham, Missouri; and Eric Maupin, Tennessee. The newly appointed alternatives include David Wilson, Alabama; Murn Myers, New Jersey; and Sam Sparks III, Texas. Another 15 farmers were reappointed to serve on the board.Stuart Woolf has been elected to serve as the new chair of the Western Growers board. Woolf is the president and CEO of Woolf Farming and Processing, a family-owned operation. He previously served as chairman of the California League of Food Processors, the Almond Board of California, and the UC President’s Commission of Agriculture and Natural Resources. He is currently on the board of the California Chamber of Commerce and the newly formed California Agave Council.
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Delegates of the Montana Farm Bureau Federation have reelected Cyndi Johnson as president. Johnson is a wheat farmer from Conrad, Mont. Gary Heibertshausen was also reelected as vice president.
Randy Reinke has been elected as the new president of the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association. He is the president and CEO of Custom Products of Litchfield. He succeeds Ben Hellbusch of Duo Lift Manufacturing. Craig Harthoorn was selected to serve as first vice president, Mark Ivey as second vice president, Tim Burenga as treasurer, and Scott Eisenmenger as secretary.
Roger Blobaum, longtime activist for organic farming and associated agricultural issues, died Oct. 29 in Washington after a long illness. He was 94. Blobaum was director of public relations for the National Farmers Union and held a similar post in the early years of the National Farmers Organization before beginning his focus on organic policy. He became director of Americans for Safe Food at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a 200,000-member consumer and health advocacy organization. Blobaum was a member of the board of the Organic Farming Research Foundation. Earlier, he worked for The Associated Press in Wisconsin and on Capitol Hill for former, and now deceased, Sens. Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin and Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota. He ran unsuccessfully for Congress against former Rep. John Kyl, an Iowa Republican, in 1970.
Longtime USDA attorney Terrence “Terry” Jackson passed away Nov. 8. He was 74. A Washington, D.C. native, Jackson attended the University of Virginia and Washington & Lee School of Law. He clerked for Judge Walter Yeagley of the D.C. Court of Appeals before beginning a 37-year career as an attorney with the Department of Agriculture's Office of General Counsel, ultimately serving as deputy assistant general counsel. His work largely focused on all programs supporting production agriculture, including the very complicated dairy, peanut, and tobacco programs. In the mid-1990s, he was selected to serve as a member of the U.S. government's delegation to the international trade negotiations in agriculture at the World Trade Organization. He focused on market access for imports of tobacco and tobacco products into the U.S.
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