Scott Herndon has joined Corteva as the new head of U.S. government and industry affairs effective May 20. He succeeds Karis Gutter, who is taking on an expanded global role leading government and industry affairs across the Americas region. Herndon previously was president of Field to Market and earlier served as vice president and general counsel of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association.

Scott Herndon.pngScott Herndon, Corteva

Jill LeVake was promoted to state government and industry affairs western regional director at Corteva effective June 3. The California native began her career as a territory manager in California and has held various roles such as strategic account manager, western marketing manager, and recently was crop protection district sales leader for California and Arizona.

Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge has joined Taft Stettinius and Hollister as a partner and chair of the firm’s public policy group. She stepped down from HUD last month. She served over a dozen years in the House and served on the Agriculture Committee.

Andrew Bowman has been named president and CEO of Defenders of Wildlife. He previously was president and CEO of the Land Trust Alliance. Before joining the Alliance in 2016, Bowman served as the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s program director for the environment, overseeing environmental grant-making.

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Colleen Batcheler has been appointed senior vice president of external affairs and general counsel at Hormel Foods. She previously worked for Conagra Brands and Albertsons and recently was executive vice president and general counsel and secretary at Hertz.

Dan Cosgrove has been selected as chief administrative officer and general counsel of Benson Hill, an ag tech company, effective May 10. He most recently was the CEO of Growers Edge.

Andy Curliss is the new vice president of strategic engagement at the National Pork Producers Council. He most recently was the director of external affairs at the SAS Institute.

Soil health company MyLand has hired Landon Gheer and Gilbert Rodriguez as directors of grower relations. Gheer will help growers throughout Texas and Rodriguez will join the California team in support of growers across the state and the Pacific Northwest. Gheer graduated from Iowa State University with a master of science in agronomy and crop science and has a bachelor of science in agronomy and crop science from West Texas A&M University. Rodriguez graduated from Fresno State University with a bachelor's degree in crop science and plant health nutrition.

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Two scientists who led efforts to establish a storage vault holding more than a million seed samples were named the 2024 World Food Prize laureates. Geoffrey Hawtin, founding director and executive board member at the Global Crop Diversity Trust, and Cary Fowler, currently U.S. special envoy for global food security, were chosen by the World Food Prize Laureate Selection Committee. The two were picked “for their longstanding contribution to seed conservation and crop biodiversity,” the World Food Prize Foundation said in a news release.

Martin J. Oberman has announced he will retire as chairman of the Surface Transportation Board. He joined STB in January 2019 following Senate confirmation and served as chairman since January 2021 after being appointed by President Joe Biden. Upon Oberman’s departure,  Biden intends to designate board member Robert Primus as STB chairman.

Bill Tomson, Agri-Pulse’s senior trade editor, died after a courageous battle with cancer. He was 55. Tomson joined Agri-Pulse in 2016 and quickly stood out for his ability to get scoops on trade topics. He traveled across Brazil in 2018 for Agri-Pulse, providing updates on the country's growth in agriculture and infrastructure improvements. In a separate trip in 2022, he met with Cuban President Raúl Castro to discuss expansion of agricultural trade with the island nation. He was a government-savvy reporter with more than two decades of experience reporting on federal agencies and Congress. He previously covered agriculture and food issues for Politico and was a reporter for Dow Jones and its flagship publication, the Wall Street Journal. “Bill was extremely dedicated to bringing our readers the very best insights on trade and any topic he covered. He worked tirelessly to get information from his vast network of sources,” said Agri-Pulse Founder and Publisher Sara Wyant. “We will miss him terribly.”

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