The International Dairy Foods Association hired Chelsie Keys as senior vice president of government relations. She will succeed Dave Carlin, who announced his retirement from IDFA earlier this year. Keys was previously policy director on the Senate Ag Committee Republican staff supporting Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark. The committee has not yet selected Keys' successor. She joined the committee in 2015 under the leadership of then-Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan. Earlier, she worked in government relations for the National Pork Producers Council. She joins IDFA in January 2026.
Chelsie Keys (IDFA photo)Seth Meyer, USDA's chief economist for nearly five years, will lead the University of Missouri’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute beginning Jan. 1. Meyer told Agri-Pulse there is no set date for his exit from USDA this month. Meyer will take over for Pat Westhoff at FAPRI, who has held the position since 2011 and is retiring March 1. Meyer previously served as associate director for FAPRI and also headed USDA’s World Agricultural Outlook Board, a key office in assessing supply and demand for domestic and global crops.
Luther Markwart, CEO for the American Sugarbeet Growers Association for the past 44 years, will retire at the end of 2026, according to an announcement from the group’s board of directors. ASGA celebrated the organization’s 50-year anniversary in 2025. Marwart has a long history of supporting the sector, including being the first leader to serve a fully united grower organization for the domestic beet sugar industry. The ASGA board of directors and Markwart have been collaborating on a plan for his planned retirement for over a year to ensure a smooth transition, the release said. ASGA's search team will begin accepting applications Jan. 1.
Erin Bacon was promoted to counsel and director of legislative strategy at Caprock Strategies. She has been with the group for a year, recently as a policy associate.
Cross Thompson joined the Senate Agriculture Committee as a legislative aide. He previously was a legislative assistant to Rep. Mike Ezell, R-Miss., and worked as clerk on the House Natural Resources Committee. Thompson is a graduate of the University of Arkansas.
Food, agriculture and energy government and industry relations firm The Russell Group has announced a new management structure. The firm’s founder, Randy Russell, will continue as president and CEO. Tyson Redpath is now chairman of advocacy and business strategy overseeing the firm’s strategic direction, major initiatives, new business development and long-term policy priorities. Jessica Schulken will become chief advocacy and external affairs officer to lead integrated advocacy efforts, coordinate external partnerships and shape the firm’s communications and engagement strategy. Allyson Alvaré will serve as chief operating officer leading the firm’s operational strategy, overseeing core infrastructure and strengthening internal systems.
The Russell Group management team. From left to right: Allyson Alvaré, Tyson Redpath, Randy Russell and Jessica Schulken. (The Russell Group photo)The American Agri-Women announced newly elected members to the organization’s national officer team. Kim Bremmer, executive director of Venture Dairy Cooperative in Wisconsin, is the new president. Additional officers include: Maggie Howley of Montana as first vice president, Vikkie Becker of Illinois as vice president of communications and Sheila Currie of Maine as treasurer. Rose Tryon of California will serve as past president. Debbie Bacigalupi of California is continuing her term as vice president of education and Alex Henderson of Texas will continue as secretary.
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The Georgia Peanut Commission hired Taylor Arnold as executive director effective Jan. 1. He succeeds Don Koehler, who is retiring after more than four decades of dedicated service to Georgia’s peanut industry. Arnold has served as county executive director for the USDA Farm Service Agency in Worth County since 2017.
NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association announced the election of board officers and the addition of one new director to lead the association in 2026. Ben Foster, president and CEO of ISG Technology and Twin Valley Telephone Inc. in Kansas will serve as chair. Ross Petrick, general manager and CEO of Alliance Communications Cooperative Inc. in South Dakota, will serve as vice chair. Jennifer Prather, CEO of Totelcom Communications LLC in Texas was elected secretary/treasurer. Additionally, Christa Alexander, president and CEO of Arriva in Mississippi was welcomed as Southeast Region Commercial Director, succeeding H. Keith Oliver.
Americans for a Clean Energy Grid hired Alex Domb as a communications manager. He was previously a media relations officer for Food & Water Watch.
The Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association announced new offices and board members. Marc Ivey, district sales manager for Bush Hog, Dixie Chopper and RhinoAg in Selma, Alabama, was named president. He succeeds Craig Harthoorn, former president of the Oxbo forage division. Additional elected officers include: Scott Eisenmenger, general manager at West Point Design in West Point, Nebraska, as first vice president; Phil Landoll, vice president of operations at Landoll Corp. in Marysville, Kansas, as second vice president; Tim Burenga, vice president of sales and purchasing at Worksaver Inc. in Litchfield, Illinois, as treasurer; Roger Murdock, director of sales and marketing at Montag Manufacturing in Trafalgar, Indiana, as secretary; and Randy Reinke, president and CEO of Custom Products of Litchfield, Minnesota, as an ex-officio member.
Keith Williams (Combest Family Funeral Homes & Crematory photo)Former congressional staffer Keith Williams died Nov. 26. He was 70. Williams was visiting Caprock Canyons State Park in Texas with his daughter when he was attacked by a bison and later died at a Lubbock hospital. Williams worked as a television reporter and anchor at KAMC in Texas in the 1980s before serving in communications roles for Rep. Larry Combest, R-Texas, Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, and USDA. He also supported communications for the U.S. Grains Council and most recently, the National Turkey Federation, among other positions. Williams’ funeral is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday at First United Methodist Church in Lubbock.
Former Biotechnology Innovation Organization staff member Tamra Spielvogel died Nov. 19. She was 49. Spielvogel worked at BIO for three and a half years, recently as senior director of climate policy and sustainability. “Her creativity, drive, and commitment not only elevated her work but united the people around her,” wrote former BIO staffer Beth Ellikidis on LinkedIn. “She deeply believed in the mission behind her work, and that dedication shone through in every project she touched.”
Michael Sligh, the first chairman of USDA’s National Organic Standards Board, died Nov. 7 at his North Carolina home. Sligh retired in 2019 after 29 years with the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA (RAFI-USA) in Pittsboro, North Carolina, where he was program director of its Just Foods Program. RAFI-USA said he was “a visionary and leader of the sustainable and organic movement, playing an instrumental role” in enactment of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. Sligh farmed in Tennessee, Florida and North Carolina. His work grew out of the 1980s farm crisis when he protested at farm foreclosures and advocated reforms of agricultural credit practices. He also participated in the Organic World Congress, helping incorporate social justice into the International Federation of Organic Movements (IFOAM) organic standards.
