Melissa Koshlaychuck has joined Western Growers as a California government affairs analyst. She most recently worked at the California Strawberry Commission as a public policy analyst. Koshlaychuck has also been on staff with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and Merck. She will be based in Sacramento.
G. Rey Reinhardt was named president of the J.R. Simplot Co. AgriBusiness Group. He has been with the company for six years, most recently as vice president of business development and optimization for Simplot AgriBusiness. Reinhardt succeeds Doug Stone who retired.
Kwik Lok named Eric Hill as CEO effective Nov. 25. He succeeds Don Carrell, who had been in the company’s top leadership position since 2019. Hill most recently worked for of Graphic Packaging International as a regional vice president and general manager. 
Rod Snyder
Rod Snyder, former top agricultural adviser at EPA, has launched his own consulting firm, Junction Strategies, focused on agriculture, climate and environmental issues. The firm will support trade associations, nonprofits, philanthropic organizations and companies that work with farmers and policymakers to build a more regenerative and resilient food and agricultural system. In March, Snyder was named director of EPA’s Office of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture hired Patrick Wade as policy director to lead its the Plant Agriculture and Pesticide Regulations and Rural Development and Financial Security committees. Wade joins NASDA from the Texas Grain Sorghum Producers.
Ag policy veteran leader Chuck Conner announced Monday he will retire as the president and CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives at the end of 2025. Conner, White House ag policy adviser and deputy (and acting) secretary of agriculture in the George W. Bush administration, has led NCFC for more than 15 years. He earlier was a top aide on the Senate Agriculture Committee. Kincannon & Reed will lead a national search for Conner’s successor.
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The National Chicken Council named Harrison Kircher president and CEO effective Jan. 1. He has been on its staff since 2011 when he joined as an intern. He most recently was senior vice president of government affairs. Michael Brown resigned as president and CEO in June.
The National Corn Growers Association hired Becky Langer-Curry as director of inputs and innovation. She will focus on regulation of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. Langer-Curry worked for Bayer the past 14 years, most recently as state regulatory engagement lead.
Jacqueline Hughes will become secretary general of the World Agriculture Forum beginning this month. She is outgoing director general of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics in India. She has worked in research and development more than 30 years.
Matthew Webster is the new communications director in the office of Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., ranking member on Senate Ag. He had been press secretary and digital director in the office since 2018. Webster replaces Sara Lasure, now communications director for the Ag Committee.
Dana Pirrotta joined Boozman's personal office as press secretary. She was deputy press secretary for the Republican staff on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee.
Syngenta Group hired two for its communications team, Dimitri Houtart as head of external communications, and Alison Tudor-Ackroyd as head of digital and social media. Based in the United Kingdom, Houtart will oversee media relations, social media and digital media in more than 100 countries. Tudor-Ackroyd will guide Syngenta digital and social media strategies.
Nebraska rancher Steve Hanson was elected chair of the U.S. Meat Export Federation. Hanson said a priority will be partnerships with checkoff boards that support USMEF. He succeeds Randy Spronk, a hog producer and grain farmer from Minnesota. Other officers are Chair-elect Jay Theiler, executive vice president of corporate affairs for Agri Beef Co.; Vice Chair Dave Bruntz, president of Bruntz Farming & Feeding; and Secretary-Treasurer Darin Parker, director of exporter/distributor PMI Foods.
Steve Hanson, USMEFAnne Stanski has left the personal office of Senate Ag Committee Chairwoman Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. Stanski has worked as deputy chief of staff since 2017. Stabenow is retiring at the end of this Congress.
Donnie Gloede was promoted to policy analyst on the Democratic staff. He joined the committee in February 2023 as a staff assistant; he earlier worked in White House advance.
Chipotle named Scott Boatwright as CEO. The leadership change comes months after former Chipotle leader Brian Niccol left to run Starbucks. Boatwright has been with Chipotle since 2017 and was on the staff of Arby’s Restaurant Group for 18 years.
Leah Mindemann was promoted to vice president at Bock & Associates, a Minneapolis media sales and consulting firm. She has been with the company for 17 years.
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