James Gallagher won the special election to represent California's 1st congressional district, filling the vacant seat from the death of former House Agriculture Committee member Doug LaMalfa. Gallagher served in the California Assembly. Curtis Grima, who was Gallagher's chief of staff in Sacramento, will take the same role in his House office.
Sarah Gallo is the new director of government affairs and public policy for Ocean Spray Cranberries. She was formerly the senior vice president of product policy and federal affairs at Consumer Brands Association.
Sarah Gallo (LinkedIn photo)The new CEO for the Center of Produce Safety is Suzanne Devereaux-McKinstrie. She previously was the international director of marketing at the American Pistachio Growers.
Naturipe Farms’ new vice president of compliance is Jennifer Pulcipher. She was previously with North Bay Produce for over 13 years.
California Giant Berry Farms has named Thomas Smith as vice president of sales and marketing. He was with the company from 2017 to 2025 and has rejoined.
David Haaf is the new vice president of fresh foods at FMI - The Food Industry Association. He was formerly the president and CEO of the International Dairy Deli Bakery Association.
Tom Clancy is now the senior director of federal affairs for the American Clean Power Association. He previously worked as a senior adviser for implementation at EPA and as a legislative director in the U.S. House.
Robert Veilleux is the new vice president of produce/floral operations at Heritage Grocers Group. He previously held the same position at Vallarta Supermarkets.
The Trump administration announced that John Bellinger has been appointed to be the new senior adviser for New World screwworm preparedness. He is currentl
John Bellinger (Texas A&M photo)y on the Texas A&M Board of Regents, and he co-founded Food Safety Net Service.
Nicholas Dolente has been promoted to policy adviser at USDA Rural Development. He has been at USDA for over a year and was most recently a confidential assistant.
John Rich is now the special envoy for American landowners in the Trump administration. He is a member of the country music group Big and Rich.
Zachary Carpenter has been promoted from COO to CEO of the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, starting on July 1. He succeeds Bradford Nordholm, who will be serving as senior adviser to the CEO.
The vice president of government and legislative affairs at the National Grain and Feed Association is Allison Rivera. She previously was the executive director of government affairs at the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
Dorene D’Adamo has been reappointed and confirmed to the State Water Resources Control Board in California. She has been a board member since 2013.
Wes Morris will be the new COO of Tyson Foods, after the retirement of Devin Cole. Morris has worked for Tyson Foods for over 20 years.
Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz PC promoted Eric Steiner to be their government relations practice chair. He was previously a senior policy advisor. OFW Law also added Bailee Fanning as a policy manager. She was recently a policy coordinator at Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment.
Rep. Kat Cammack’s, R-Fla., new communications director is Rafael Struve. He worked previously as the deputy communications director for former Governor of Virginia Glenn Youngkin.
Shari Rogge-Fidler is the new executive director at Farm Rescue. She is a fifth-generation farmer and the former president and CEO of the Farm Foundation.
Jamilla Mohammed started her role as the global communications manager for Syngenta. She previously worked for the company through MDS on global executive communications and employee engagement.
Dave Masser has been elected chairman of Potatoes USA. He is the president and CEO of Masser Family of Companies.
Kenny Quick is the new CEO of Ample Agriculture. Mark Smith, the founding CEO, will continue to be with the company as president. Quick was previously with Cargill for over 10 years, most recently as the senior director of North America micronutrition and health solutions.
Kelsey Freeman Saelens was promoted to senior vice president and head of global government relations and corporate responsibility at Cargill. She has been working at Cargill for six and a half years.
Ever.Ag has promoted Kathleen Noble Wolfley to be the vice president of insights. She has been with the company for 13 years and was most recently an agent and broker.
Jamie Ballard has been promoted to supply chain director at JBS. She has been with JBS for almost 12 years, and she was the operations inbound manager most recently.
Jenna Byrne is the new managing editor of Hay & Forage Grower magazine. She was previously an associate editor at Hoard's Dairyman.
President and CEO of MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger Abby Leibman will be retiring in June of 2027. MAZON is looking for Leibman’s successor.
Brian Knifong is now the senior vice president of agronomy at Agtegra Cooperative. He spent 20 years with Nutrien Ag Solutions, most recently as head of marketing and customer experience.
Annabella Sulpizio joined the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association as the associate director of organizational marketing. She graduated in May from Texas A&M University with a master's degree in marketing.
George Smith will be leaving Michigan State University on August 1 to be the dean of the University of Arizona College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences. At Michigan State University, he was the director of AgBioResearch and senior associate dean for research at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
San Diego Farms has gained Marc Oshima as senior vice president of sales. Oshima co-founded AeroFarms, a vertical farming company. Most recently, he was the CEO of Babylon Micro-Farms. He also founded Oshima Good Food in 2004, where he is the CEO.
Clean Fuels Alliance America has added Jason Brasier as a digital content creator and Paul Houf as the outreach and development manager.
Parisa Selehi joined Parker Poe as a partner. She was the former inspector general of the Export-Import Bank of the United States.
Parisa Selehi (Parker Poe photo)Jill Sprakel is the new technical sales manager for the northern plains at Feedworks USA. She was previously with ImmuCell Corporation as a regional sales marketing manager.
The Potato Sustainability Alliance is adding Garland Perkins and Liz Hamm. Perkins is the project manager for the Lake Winnipeg Basin Watershed Project. Hamm is the education portal coordinator.
Terri Meighan has retired from her 35 years of federal service, most recently as chief human capital officer for USDA’s Farm Production and Conservation department.
Kory Trout is now an assistant counsel at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. He was formerly a staff attorney at the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania.
The Washington Grain Commission has gained Jessica Pupo as the market development manager. She was formerly the crop stewardship manager at Sound Agriculture.
Egan Brockhoff is retiring from being chief veterinary officer and senior executive at the Canadian Pork Council.
Mike Neubeck was promoted to vice president of sourcing at Organically Grown Company. He has been with the company for almost 29 years, and he most recently served as the director of purchasing.
Chelsea Tillinghast is now a research fellow at the National Agricultural Law Center. She is a J.D. candidate at the Vermont Law and Graduate School.
The new head of wheat at the Archer-Daniels-Midland Company is Rick Mulder. He was promoted from being a senior risk manager.
Mike Sweeney joined the Wildlands Conservancy as a director and senior adviser. He was formerly the director at Blue Evolution.
Chase Harris has been promoted to be vice president of agricultural lending for east central Indiana at Farm Credit Mid-America. He has been with the company for almost 11 years.
Daniel Rios has been promoted to be the produce and floral category manager at Good Eggs. He has been with the company for over two years as a produce buyer.
Ken Fisher, AmericanHort’s president and CEO, left at the end of May and is succeeded by Lionel van der Walt.
Adam Dandrea and Jay Betancourt have joined Consalo Family Farms as procurement managers. They will work with producers to source fruits and vegetables for the farm.
