Church Brothers Farms has added Martin Sotelo as a new senior director of raw product procurement for the U.S. and Mexico. Sotelo brings more than 13 years of experience in the produce industry and previously worked for Taylor Farms Retail as the ag ops manager.
Martin Sotelo, Church Brothers FarmsMike Reed has been promoted to senior vice president and chief financial officer of Stater Bros. Markets in San Bernardino, California. He succeeds Dave Harris, who retired as the executive vice president for finance, chief financial officer and principal accounting officer. Reed has been with the company since 2014 and was the senior director in the real estate and property management department.
The USA Rice Federation’s board of directors tapped Peter Bachmann as the next CEO of the organization, succeeding Betsy Ward, who has been at the helm for the last 16 years. Bachmann starts his new role Nov. 15. Ward will remain on as an adviser through mid-December. Bachmann has been USA Rice’s vice president of policy and government affairs since 2019. He began with the organization in 2015 and worked on domestic farm policy issues before leaving in 2017 to take on a senior adviser role at the Department of Agriculture under then-Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.
Deanna Kovar has been named as the new president of John Deere’s Worldwide Agriculture and Turf Division: Small Ag and Turf, Regions 1 and 2, which cover the company’s presence in Asia, Africa, and Europe. Kovar joined Deere in 2000, and most recently was the vice president of production and precision ag. She will succeed Mark von Pentz who is retiring.
Dan Bernhardson has been promoted to vice president of operations at the American Crystal Sugar Company. He has been with the organization for the last 19 years and most recently was the director of operations.
Liz Jacobson has taken over the agriculture portfolio for Congressman Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif. Jacobson is a legislative assistant in Panetta’s office and also covers the portfolio for energy, science and technology, animal welfare, and environmental protection.
Peter Bachmann, USARiceMariah Wollweber has taken on a new role with USTelecom: The Broadband Association as the new senior director of communication. She previously worked at the National Association of Wheat Growers, where she was the director of communication and partnerships. Bethany Cummings has been moved to interim communications director at NAWG; she has been serving as the communications manager.
Jessica Student has been selected as the chief impact officer of the Rodale Institute, leading the development, marketing, and communications divisions. She previously worked for the GOOD Institute and Net Impact as the vice president of brand and strategy and was the chief marketing officer.
Dorothy Bailey has been appointed as the new director of the Office of Minor Use and Minor Species in the Center for Veterinary Medicine at the Food and Drug Administration. Bailey is a 16-year veteran of the agency and has been serving as the acting director of OMUMS since the previous director, Meg Oeller, retired at the end of 2022. Before joining the OMUMS staff, Bailey was was a primary reviewer on the Antimicrobial Drugs Team, Division of Therapeutic Drugs for Food Animals in CVM’s Office of New Animal Drug Evaluation.
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Jamie Rappaport Clark will step down from the helm of Defenders of Wildlife in 2024. She has been with the organization for the last 20 years, 13 of which were served as president and CEO. She is a biologist by training but has been in wildlife roles with the Department of Defense and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. She will remain in her position until the board of directors has announced her successor.
American Farmland Trust President and CEO John Piotti has announced he will be taking an 18-week sabbatical in early February. Beth Sauerhaft will serve as acting president during Piotti’s leave. Sauerhaft has served as vice president of programs for the last five years.
Lars Pasedag has been tapped for the newly created position chief operating officer of Krone North America. Pasedag will oversee sales, marketing and service. He began with the company in 2003 as a service technician for export markets in Germany. He most recently was the sales manager for Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia for Krone Agriculture.
Paul Saito has been elected as the new chairman of the Idaho Potato Commission. Mark Darrington was also selected to serve as the vice chairman and Mike Telford will serve as a new commissioner.
MyLand, a soil health company, has hired Jeff Tuel as the director of sales to expand the company’s service among growers in California and the western U.S. Tuel is a graduate of Washington State University, with a degree in communication and a minor in business development. He is also a former player for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars.
The National FFA Organization elected a new slate of national officers at last week's convention. Leading the group as president is Amara Jackson from Michigan. Grant Norfleet from Missouri has been elected secretary. Serving as the southern region vice president is Carter Howell from Florida, the central region vice president is Kanyon Huntington from Iowa, the eastern region vice president is Morgan Anderson from Ohio, and the western region vice president is Emily Gossett from New Mexico.
The American Agri-Women elected new officers at its 2023 national convention in Sacramento, Calif. Serving as American Agri-Women’s 25th President is Rose Tryon, of California Women for Agriculture. Kim Bremmer of Wisconsin Agri-Women has been tapped as the first vice president; Chrissy Wozniak of Florida Agri-Women is the new vice president of communications; and Kathy Goodyke of Minnesota Agri-Women has been elected treasurer. Heather Hampton Knodle, Illinois Agri-women, is the new past president. Arlene Kovash of Oregon Women for Agriculture is serving her second year as secretary and Jean Goslin of Kansas Agri-Women is serving her second year as vice president of education.
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