National Association of Conservation Districts CEO Jeremy Peters is resigning, effective September 30. He has been with the association for 15 years, 11 of which he served as CEO. Peters will continue to consult for NACD until the end of the year. A search committee for the new CEO will be formed later this year.
Mark LeValley is the new president of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. He is a fourth-generation livestock producer. LeValley’s wife, Robbie LeValley, served as president of the organization from 2010-2011. LeValley takes over the role from Curt Russell, the outgoing president.
Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Joshua Lepper to a labor seat and Cassie Hilaski to a management seat on the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards board. Newsom reappointed Joseph Alioto to be board chair and Chris Laszcz-Davis as management representative. The board’s reshuffling follows criticism earlier this year from members who faulted the administration for rescinding a draft indoor heat‑illness standard.
Compass Advisors was launched by Liane Randolph, Hazel Miranda and Grant Mack last week. The company will provide strategic policy consulting and government relations focused on clean air and natural resources protection.
Dairy Farmers of America promoted Ira Kullot to be senior manager of the western region for risk management. He has been with the organization for over six years and was most recently the manager of risk management.
Sami Robotics was selected by the Western Growers Center for Innovation and Technology for a residency at Reservoir Farms. Western Growers will provide Reservoir Farms $1.5 million in partnership funding over the next three years, it announced in May.
University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources has hired several researchers across its research areas: Lina Aoyama, Christina Richardson, Ahmed Ayoub, Sara Ohadi, Jennie Lane, Mohammad Maharlooei, Darlene Ruiz, Ben Baldi, Lauren Hale, Carrie Brown and Anderson Safre.
Andy D’Arrigo, the former president of D’Arrigo Bros. Co. of California, died at age 102. He was the face of the company’s “Andy Boy” brand, Western Growers reported. He was with the company for almost 64 years and was the chair of the Western Growers board of directors in 1978.
Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) hired Jeff Rowe to be executive vice president and chief operating officer, effective Aug 17. He is the former CEO of Syngenta Group, and was with Syngenta for 10 years in total. Read more on Agri-Pulse.com.
The United Soybean Board named Courtney Knupp chief executive officer, effective Oct. 1. She is currently the director of global supply chain at the National Security Council. Earlier, Knupp held chief of staff roles at USDA, worked on international trade policy for the National Pork Producers Council and held commercial roles at BASF and Elanco Animal Health.
Jeff Rowe (Syngenta Group Photo)Mac Marshall has rejoined Bayer as vice president of global policy and trade. He previously worked for the company from 2018-2020, and has since held roles at United Soybean Board, Balcony View Consulting and Apeel.The National Corn Growers Association held its elections for the Corn Board checkoff at its biannual Corn Congress last week. Delegates elected Stu Swanson, Dana Allen-Tully and Andy Jobman for the first time to the board. Troy Schneider from Colorado was reelected to the board.
Lee Zeldin, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, announced new members of the Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities advisory committee. There were 21 new members, including National Association of Wheat Growers treasurer Chris Tanner. The committee is designed to provide independent policy advice to the EPA on issues that are important to agriculture and rural communities.
Michelle Sutton has been promoted to be counsel for the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee for Republicans. She was previously a legislative aide and law clerk for the committee, and has worked for it for over a year. She was also a legal intern at USDA in 2023.
Maddie Jenks is the new regulatory affairs director at the Renewable Fuels Association. She spent three years previously working for Pilot Flying J, most recently as their senior specialist of government affairs.
Dana Dufresne has joined Grassroots Carbon as chief value chain officer. She was previously the chief growth and marketing officer at Fair Trade USA for almost three years.
Paul Murphy-Spooner is no longer the senior director of external communications at the United Soybean Board. He was with the organization for over seven years. Murphy-Spooner has not announced his next role yet.
Liz Demorest (LinkedIn Photo)The International Dairy Foods Association added Liz Demorest as the director of PAC and political affairs. She most recently was the associate director of political engagement at the American Academy of Dermatology for two years.
Katie Darnell has been promoted to be director of business operations and animal welfare at Cattle Care. She has been with the company for over two years, and was previously a customer success specialist.
Ryan Ferguson was hired by FGS Global as the managing director for the energy, climate tech and natural resources team. He was the director of external communications at RWE for over two years prior to this role.
The International Dairy Foods Association has announced its NextGen Leadership Program cohort. Thirty professionals were selected for the program’s Cohort 8. The program recruits mid-level to senior-level professionals in the dairy industry to participate in a year long curriculum focused on advocacy, leadership development, and networking.
ADM has hired Sabine Schaefer as a senior technical service scientist. She spent almost three years at Cargill working on plant-based meats, most recently as a technical account manager for new protein solutions. The company promoted Moritz Bootsma from sales manager to sales manager of foodservice. He has been with the company for over five years. ADM added Jasmine Arnold as a creation, design and development health and wellness probiotics lab manager. She previously worked for Coca-Cola.
Corteva Agriscience has hired Megan Boettcher as the integrated communications lead. She previously was a senior worldwide digital communication specialist at Kemin Industries. Corteva has also promoted Victoria Smith to be strategic planning leader. Smith has been with Corteva for over four years, most recently as the U.S. social media leader.
Cargill hired Lexi Schmidt as a shopper marketing specialist on the Consumer Brands team. She was previously on the Post Consumer Brands team, most recently as a social media grocery community manager. The company also hired Márcia Damas as a senior packaging regulatory specialist. Damas worked most recently as the general manager of packaging and single use plastics at Electrão.
Jillian Nelson was hired as a marketing assistant with Dairy Farmers of America. She was previously a game presentation assistant for the Minnesota Lynx, and a brand ambassador for Minnesota United FC.
