Chavonda Jacobs-Young, undersecretary for research, education and economics and USDA chief scientist, has retired. A career employee, Jacobs-Young was administrator of the Agricultural Research Service for eight years among other roles during 23 years at the agency. “My colleagues know that through the years I have been vocal about the exact day and time in 2027 that I would retire," she wrote. "So last week, I simply left my equipment and my badge on a desk and exited federal service for what might be my last time.” 
2025-26 NPPC officers (Photo: NPPC)
The National Pork Producers Council elected officers and board members for 2025-26. Duane Stateler, McComb, Ohio, was elected president. He operates Stateler Family Farms alongside his son, Anthony, raising hogs, corn, soybeans and wheat. Rob Brenneman, Washington, Iowa, is president-elect and Pat Hord, Bucyrus, Ohio, is vice president. Lori Stevermer, Easton, Minn., is past president. Scott Hays, Dwight Mogler and Russ Vering left the board.
Riley Pagett returned to USDA as chief of staff for trade and foreign agricultural affairs. Pagett was deputy chief of staff for Rep. Tracey Mann, R-Kan., and was chief of staff for the USDA Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement during the first Trump administration.
USDA has named additional communications staff. Jolene Pumphrey will be deputy press secretary. She was digital director for Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and previously worked for Fox News as a special assistant and production assistant. Pumphrey was also a multimedia intern at the Heritage Foundation. Mason Prickett was hired as a press assistant.
Jon Hurst joined Illinois Corn as public policy manager. He was a special adviser in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and special assistant at USDA during the Biden administration. Hurst is based in Chicago.
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture hired Logan Moss as associate director of public policy. He will be responsible for supporting the animal agriculture and natural resources and environment policy committees. A University of Arkansas graduate, Moss was extension associate for the Flinchbaugh Chair in Agricultural Policy at Kansas State University.
Logan Moss, National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA photo)Sean Lokken was promoted to senior policy adviser for Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., covering agriculture, food, energy and animals. Lokken has been on Cortez Masto’s staff since the 2016 campaign.
Terrain hired Marc Rosenbohm as a senior grain and oilseed analyst. He joins the team from the University of Missouri’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, where he provided outlooks and projections for 18 crops, from corn and soybeans to alfalfa and dry beans. He is based in Columbia, Missouri.
Mike DeCamp retired as CEO and president of sustainable agriculture company CoverCress after five years on the job. Jim Hedges, row crop farmer from central Illinois, was named CEO and president.
Karen Budd-Falen is returning to the Interior Department as associate deputy secretary. She served in the Reagan and first Trump administrations, recently as deputy solicitor for national parks and the Endangered Species Act. She and her husband own Budd-Falen Law Offices in Cheyenne, Wyoming, representing property owners, farm and ranch groups, and local governments.
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Madeline Sieren is now deputy communications director for Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. She was previously communications director for Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. Sieren was an intern for both Sen. Hawley and Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill.
CGB Enterprises promoted Seth Post to vice president of soybean processing. He will oversee CGB’s Mount Vernon, Indiana, soybean processing facility and North Dakota Soybean Processors' location in Casselton, North Dakota. He has been director of grain operations for CGB south of St. Louis for 11 years.
Craig Wheeler was named communications director for Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb. He was previously communications director for Reps. Bob Latta, R-Ohio, and Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash.
The U.S. Grains Council hired John Owen as global programs coordinator based in Washington. He worked at the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service as a specialty crops market reporter in the market news division. A Texas Tech University graduate, he was previously an agricultural affairs and commodity policy intern at the Office of the United States Trade Representative. 
John Owen, U.S. Grains Council (USGC photo)
Lisa Foust Prater was promoted to Successful Farming executive editor of family and rural issues at Dotdash Meredith. The host of the "15 Minutes with a Farmer" podcast, she has been with the company for 26 years.
Jaana Syme joined the Congressional Western Caucus as policy adviser. She was previously legislative assistant for Rep. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah.
Joe Diver was named chief of staff for House Ag Committee member Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Ill. He was chief of staff for Reps. Yadira Caraveo, D-Colo., and Cindy Axne, D-Iowa.
Look East hired Michael Whitmer as vice president. He led his own marketing communications consulting business, held a communications role at the Illinois Soybean Association and worked for Osborn Barr Paramore as an account director. Whitmer was an adjunct professor at Webster University in St. Louis.
Jake Middlebrooks was named deputy chief of staff for Rep. Tracey Mann, R-Kan. He was previously chief of staff for Rep. Jake LaTurner, R-Kan.
The National Agri-Marketing Association announced the organization’s top industry award winners. Bob Petersen, retired leader of the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City, was named Ag Association Leader of the Year. Petersen was influential in launching the Ag Outlook Forum and assisting the relocation of USDA agencies to Kansas City. Mark Orr, CEO of GROWMARK, was selected as Agribusiness Leader of the Year. NAMA says Orr “propelled GROWMARK’s growth by fostering strategic partnerships, advancing supply chain solutions, and championing sustainable agronomic practices.” Michele Egan of Novonesis and formerly North America marketing manager at Chr. Hansen, was named NAMA Marketer of the Year for her marketing strategies in the animal nutrition sector.
Roy L. Prosterman, a pioneering land reform advocate and founder of the Rural Development Institute — which changed its name to Landesa in 2011 — died Feb. 27 at his home in Seattle. He was 89. He had Parkinson’s disease. A lawyer, Prosterman is credited with helping millions of agricultural workers in developing countries to secure legal rights to land they worked.
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