Martin Oberman plans to retire from his position as chairman of the Surface Transportation Board. Oberman will depart the STB in early 2024 rather than seek a second term. He has been in the position since 2019.
National Sorghum Producers is hiring Greg Ruehle to be the group's new executive director. Ruehle brings more than 30 years of industry leadership to the role, including stops at the Independent Professional Seed Association, the Nebraska Cattlemen's Association, and ServiTech.
Dairy Farmers of America staffer Martin Bates was recently promoted to president of global relations and marketing. Bates was previously the president of ingredient solutions and first joined DFA in 2018 as its senior VP and COO for global dairy ingredients.
Brittany Jablonsky, National Farmers UnionBrittany Jablonsky is returning to the National Farmers Union as the group's chief of staff at the beginning of 2024. Jablonsky was with NFU from 2008 to 2014 before heading to Capitol Hill to work for Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. She was most recently the vice president of public policy and stakeholder relations at Farm Credit Council.
The American Soybean Association is adding staff to its St. Louis and Washington, D.C., offices. Carson Fort, previously a legislative issue manager for Stateside Associates, is filling a new policy manager role and will be based in DC. Maria Brockamp is also joining ASA's industry relations office in St. Louis. She was previously a sustainability technician trainee with Bartlett in Kansas City, Missouri.
Christine Hamp has been chosen as the next president of the National Grange. Hamp, the group’s vice president since 2021, takes over for Betsy Huber, the group’s leader since 2015.
Several other Grange members took new positions on the board: John Benedik of New Jersey succeeds Hamp as vice president; Washington’s Tom Gwin is the group’s new lecturer/program director; Christopher Johnston of Michigan was chosen as a board steward; Walter Hartley of Rhode Island is the new assistant steward; Kay Hoffman Stiles of Maryland is the group’s new chaplain; David Allen of North Carolina is the new Grange gatekeeper; Barbara Foster of West Virginia is the group’s new Pomona.
The American Agricultural Law Association’s new board members have settled into their positions. Jake Parker of North Carolina is the group’s new president; Brandon Davis of Louisiana is now AALA’s president-elect; Minnesota’s Jeff Peterson is past president, and three new directors have been added to the board: Cort Jensen of Montana, Kristine Tidgren of Iowa and Julia Schatz of Ontario.
USDA has appointed six producers to serve on the Sorghum Checkoff's board of directors. Colorado's James Haase, Missouri's Ethan Miller, and Nebraska's Tracy Zink were all appointed as at-large members. David Schemm will fill a Kansas-specific slot on the board, and Brian Adamek will do the same for growers from Texas. All were appointed to three-year terms that will start in December. Scott Irlbeck will fill a two-year term as a Texas member beginning immediately.
The American Feed Industry Association announced a pair of staff changes Tuesday. Madison Wyman has been hired in the new position of policy communications specialist. The South Carolina native recently wrapped up a research and communications fellowship with The Roots Routes in Bangkok, Thailand. AFIA also promoted Daisy Rodriguez to manager of meetings and events with the organization. Rodriguez has been with AFIA since 2019.
Former Obama administration Commerce Secretary and U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke has joined international law firm Dorsey and Whitney as a senior adviser. Aside from his federal positions, Locke was also a governor of the state of Washington. He was the first Chinese-American governor and the first Asian-American governor in the continental U.S. His most recent roles include the interim presidency of Bellevue College and chair of the Committee of 100, an organization promoting civic engagement among Chinese Americans.
Kelly Ferguson plans to acquire a majority interest in Meyocks, a branding and marketing agency, effective Jan. 1, 2024. Rachel Allinson will acquire a minority interest; both are current members of the company's executive committee. Doug Jeske, the company's current owner and president will retain a minority interest.
Two farm hands have new positions on the board of the Animal Agriculture Alliance. Lisa McComb, the senior VP of communications at Dairy Management Inc., is the group’s new chair-elect and Tom Super, the senior VP of communications for the National Chicken Council, is the group’s new treasurer. McComb will succeed current board chair and Morning Fresh Farms President Derek Yancey when his term expires in January 2025; Super will assume treasurer responsibilities in January following the retirement of National Turkey Federation President and CEO Joel Brandenberger.
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Dana O’Brien has started a new boutique consulting firm, Dana O’Brien Strategies, to help clients with issues around sustainability. O’Brien is a veteran of several positions at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization, most recently as its chief sustainability officer and deputy chief operating officer.
Eric Mitchell, Alliance to End HungerAgFirst, a Farm Credit bank, has a new legislative and government affairs coordinator. Army veteran Coty Ferguson joined the staff after working in various roles in the district offices of South Carolina Republican Reps. Nancy Mace and Joe Wilson.
Eric Mitchell has a new role at the Alliance to End Hunger. After joining the group in 2020 as executive director, he was recently appointed president by the alliance board. Mitchell’s work history also includes stops at Bread for the World and on Capitol Hill, where he worked in the House for Georgia Democrats John Lewis and Sanford Bishop, the current ranking member of the House Ag Appropriations subcommittee.
Art Simon, the Lutheran pastor who convened a group of more than a dozen clergy to found Bread for the World in 1974, died last week. He was 93. Simon served 16 years as the organization’s first president and then worked another five years as the director of the Washington office of the Christian Children’s Fund. Simon received numerous awards and recognitions for his work including the Presidential Hunger Award for Lifetime Achievement and a 2019 House resolution in his honor co-introduced by House Ag Committee member Mike Bost, R-Ill., and former Ag Committee member Cheri Bustos, D-Ill. Bread for the World is planning an online service in his memory on Dec. 4.
William A. Powell, a biologist who helped create a transgenic blight-tolerant American chestnut that is poised for regulatory approval, died November 12 at his home in Syracuse, New York. He was 67. Powell headed the American Chestnut Restoration Project at the State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), which applied for approval from USDA, FDA and EPA. Powell last year anticipated USDA approval late this year.
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