Jimmy Emmons was named assistant chief of USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. He is the third generation on his Oklahoma farm growing wheat, soybeans, sesame, sunflowers, irrigated alfalfa, canola, grain sorghum and cover crops for seed. With his wife, he also manages a 250-head cow-calf herd.
Caleb Crosswhite joined USDA as deputy general counsel. He was chief counsel on the Senate Ag Committee for nearly two years and senior counsel for the House Ag Committee. During the first Trump administration, Crosswhite was senior adviser and counsel in the marketing and regulatory programs mission area at USDA.
Braxton Wenk was named chief of staff in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations. Wenk worked in the U.S. Senate for 10 years, most recently as administrative director and legislative assistant for Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. Taylor Keel was named legislative adviser to the assistant secretary for congressional relations. She was previously a legislative assistant in the U.S. House. 
NRCS Chief Aubrey Bettencourt swears in Jimmy Emmons, NRCS assistant chief, at the USDA building. Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., was present (USDA photo).
Clayton Joyner was sworn in as a confidential assistant in USDA's Risk Management Agency. He previously worked for Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C. as legislative correspondent and as an operations coordinator for the Republican National Committee co-chair.
Additional staff sworn in on May 19 at USDA: Sam Berry, senior adviser on government efficiency in the Office of the Chief Information Officer; Cody Cornell, policy adviser at NRCS; Catherine West, confidential assistant for Rural Development; Nicholas Dolente, confidential assistant in the Rural Utilities Services, and Sydney Hardy, confidential assistant in the Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement.
The Peterson Group hired former House Ag Committee Democratic staff director Anne Simmons as a policy consultant. She has three decades of experience on Capitol Hill, working on the House committee staff since 1993. She was raised on an Iowa crop and livestock farm.
Alexa Bishopric joined the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Democratic staff as a professional staff member. She was previously House legislative affairs adviser for the Department of Energy's Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs.
The Plant Based Products Council hired Sydney Van de Meulebroecke as manager of bioproducts policy. She was a policy analyst focused on sustainable aviation fuel at the Federal Aviation Administration. She also worked at Newell Brands on waste reduction programs and led environmental impact assessments on packaging. In addition, Van de Meulebroecke will support the Corn Refiners Association as manager of workplace safety.
Greg Conner (AFIA photo)The American Feed Industry Association has made staff changes. Greg Conner was hired as senior manager of multilateral affairs and market access. He will represent AFIA in trade discussions and advocate for science-based regulations to reduce nontariff barriers. Prior to joining the AFIA, Conner taught English in North Macedonia as part of the Peace Corps. Conner most recently was an international program specialist for USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service, administering the Cochran and Borlaug Fellowship Programs in Southeast Asia and Africa. Mallory Gaines was promoted to director of global affairs. She has been with AFIA since 2019, leading its international policy strategy and representing members at global meetings and United Nations events. Ivy Torres was promoted to manager of global programs. She has been with AFIA since 2023, working in market access and development.
Nick Hall left the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, where he was deputy director of government affairs. Hall is now a legislative assistant in the office of Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., covering natural resources, public lands and energy.
Three new senior advisers were named to temporary positions for the Surface Transportation Board: Sharon Clark, Rob Reilly and Chris Bertram. Clark has experience in grain merchandising, commodity trading, transportation and regulatory affairs and compliance. She worked at Perdue AgriBusiness and with several trade organizations, including the National Grain and Feed Association Foundation. Reilly is a former executive with BNSF Railway and Canadian National Railway. Bertram was staff director for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and was assistant secretary for budget and programs and chief financial officer for the Department of Transportation.
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Jennifer Michael returned to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Democratic staff as a senior professional staff member. She has been associate director of the Center for Energy Impact at Boston Consulting Group and senior adviser at Resources for the Future. Earlier, Michael was a professional staff member and chief economist for the committee.
Sarah Geary (LinkedIn photo)Sarah Geary has left Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions as communications and media relations director. She has taken a position with Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., as communications director.
Joe Gollinger joined the Department of Labor's Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs as senior legislative officer. He was legislative assistant for Rep. Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn.
Tyler Sanderson was named senior counsel at the Department of Health and Human Services. He worked for the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee as senior counsel.
The School Nutrition Association hired Elizabeth Campbell as vice president of government affairs and media relations. She was USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service branch chief for external affairs focused on collaborating with key federal, state and industry partners and was senior director of legislative and government affairs for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., hired Brigid Ueland as a legislative assistant for transportation, energy and commerce. She was manager of congressional affairs for the American Financial Services Association.
Caitlin Soto joined the Department of Labor as a senior policy adviser. She was chief counsel of oversight and investigations for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and was oversight counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee. 
Greg Ibach (Agri-Pulse photo)
The Midwest Council on Agriculture appointed Greg Ibach, fifth-generation farmer and former undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs at USDA, as a policy advisor. Ibach also has been Nebraska director of agriculture. “His extensive knowledge and experience in agriculture, especially with livestock and animal agriculture, will be invaluable as we continue to advocate for Midwest agriculture,” said former House Agriculture Committee Chair and MWCA founder Collin Peterson.
Amanda Lincoln joined Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC as a principal. She was Republican staff director for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
Impetus Agriculture hired Daqi Tu as vice president of research and development to lead efforts to advance technology for controlling crop-damaging insects. He was the leader of the protein engineering and trait discovery design and optimization team at Corteva Agriscience and held similar positions at Monsanto and Bayer Crop Science.
Robert B. Shapiro, former Monsanto chief executive officer and a pioneer champion of agricultural biotechnology, died of pancreatic cancer May 2 at his home in Chicago. He was 86. He championed adaptation of seeds and crops to resist pests and pesticides that were widely adopted by U.S. farmers.
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