Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., hired John Watts as counsel covering environmental protection, public lands and natural resources. He was water policy adviser at the California Natural Resources Agency and worked at the Bureau of Reclamation, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and other Capitol Hill offices.
The California Milk Advisory Board hired Selina Lopes as producer relations coordinator. A recent graduate of Oklahoma State University, she was an agriculture support specialist at Modesto Junior College in California.
Selina Lopes (LinkedIn photo)Lori Fulton retired from the University of California, Davis. She has been with the university since 1999, recently as assistant to the dean in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
The International Fresh Produce Association reorganized its food safety and regulatory teams to strengthen produce safety and food safety policy work. Regulatory and compliance expert Paul Lewis joined the government relations team and reports to Alexis Taylor, IFPA’s chief global policy officer. Other food safety team members — Angie Fraser, vice president of food safety and quality; Jorge Quintanilla, food safety manager; and Alison Saltzmann, food safety support coordinator — transitioned to a science and technology (SciTech) team under Max Teplitski, IFPA’s chief science officer.
Wayne Honeycutt, founding president and chief executive officer of the Soil Health Institute, will retire in early 2026. Under his leadership, the institute grew from a startup to more than 30 staff in North America. SHI helped more than 160 farms adopt soil health practices on 19 million acres. The board has formed a committee to find a successor.
Mike Nassif was named chief executive officer and president of Neogen Corp., effective Aug. 11. He was global president of Point-of-Care Diagnostics at Siemens Healthineers. Nassif has more than 20 years of experience in healthcare, diagnostics and consumer goods at Baxter Healthcare, AB-InBev and Johnson & Johnson. He succeeds John Adent, who is stepping down after eight years leading the food safety solutions firm.
Phillip Farmer launched his own business, PTK Advisors Ltd., focused on serving clients in the agriculture sector. Farmer worked for the Tennessee Farmers Cooperative the past six years, recently as chief innovation officer.
The delegates of the U.S. Grains and BioProducts Council elected members to the organization's Board of Directors in Grand Rapids, Michigan. From left to right (rear): At-Large Director Curt Mether; Agribusiness Sector Director Sean Broderick; At-Large Director Dylan Rosier; Ethanol Sector Director Craig Willis; State Checkoff Sector Director Josh Roe; Barley Sector Director Matthew Horlacher; Sorghum Sector Director Adam Schindler; At-Large Director Greg Alber; (front) Corn Sector Director Jolene Riessen; Secretary-Treasurer Jay Fischer; Past Chair Verity Ulibarri; Chair Mark Wilson; USGBC President and CEO Ryan LeGrand; Vice Chair Jay Reiners; and At-Large Director Jennie Schmidt. (USGBC photo)Mark Wilson of the Illinois Corn Marketing Board was elected chairman of the U.S. Grains and BioProducts Council (USGBC) board of directors. He grows corn and soybeans near Toulon, Ill. Wilson was a USGBC delegate for 10 years and chairman of the Illinois Corn Marketing Board. In addition to board elections, delegates approved a rebrand to become the U.S. Grains and BioProducts Council. Additional officers include Jay Reiners of the Nebraska Corn Board as vice chairman, and Jay Fischer of the Missouri Corn Growers Association as secretary-treasurer. Dylan Rosier of the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council and Greg Alber of the Iowa Corn Growers Association were elected at-large directors. Additional new directors include Sean Broderick of CHS as agribusiness sector director, Jolene Riessen of the Iowa Corn Growers Association as corn sector director and Matthew Horlacher from the Washington Grain Commission and Cold Stream Malt & Grain as barley sector director.
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Terry Griffin, professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University, was appointed to the White House Space Weather Advisory Group. He specializes in precision agriculture and evaluating the economic risks of space weather and GPS signal degradation in industries, particularly agriculture. Griffin will be part of the advisory group to the White House Subcommittee on Space Weather Operations, Research, and Mitigation.
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee communications director Ty Bofferding has left the committee after working for Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., since 2016 on his personal and committee staff. Bofferding is now executive director of public and government affairs for the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association.
Ryan King was promoted to vice president of North America sales at Agrisolutions to strengthen partnerships with equipment manufacturers and expand after-market support. He joined the company in 2023 as supply chain director for the hardware division and held supply chain roles at John Deere.
Sabine Schröder (Yara North America photo)Sabine Schröder was named president of Yara North America overseeing operations in the U.S. and Canada. She has been interim president since January after 18 years with the company, including as vice president of commercial excellence for Crop Nutrition in the Americas and global sales excellence manager. Additionally, George Simpson was named director of East U.S. sales and marketing. He has been with the company for more than 23 years and recently led the mid-Atlantic team. Dan Clarke, a 19-year company veteran, will be director of West U.S. sales and marketing after leading the central U.S. team. Jeff Hartz joined the team as vice president of strategic marketing. He was director of go-to-market strategy and enablement for Yara Americas.
Curtis Laurent joined the House Natural Resources Committee Republican staff as a press assistant. A recent graduate of Spring Hill College, he has completed internships in several Capitol Hill offices.
Obituary
Leo V. Mayer, a top economist and administrator in several agencies, died July 16 in Alexandria, Virginia. He was 88. He had been senior staff economist with the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, senior specialist for agriculture at the Congressional Research Service, senior agricultural advisor with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, associate administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service and deputy assistant secretary of agriculture. A Kansas native, he earned a Ph.D. in agricultural economics at Iowa State University and was a faculty member for five years. A memorial is to be held at 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 12 at River Farm, 7931 E. Boulevard Dr., Alexandria, Virginia.
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