| USDA Announces FPAC Presidential Appointments: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced several new President Trump’s appointments for key roles within the Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) mission area. Agencies housed under FPAC include the Farm Service Agency (FSA), the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and the Risk Management Agency (RMA). Brooke Appleton was appointed to serve as Deputy Under Secretary for FPAC. Before this role, she served as the Vice President of Public Policy at the National Corn Growers Association and worked at USDA under the first Trump Administration as Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary. Andrew Fisher will serve as Chief of Staff for FPAC. Most recently, he worked on the Hill for Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) as a Legislative Assistant covering the agriculture portfolio. Aubrey Bettencourt was appointed as NRCS Chief. Before this role, she served as the Global Director of Government Affairs and External Affairs for Netafim and previously held the role of Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S. Department of the Interior under the first Trump Administration. Bill Beam was tapped to be the next FSA Administrator. Bill owns and operates Beam Farms Inc., where he farms corn, soybean, wheat, and previously served in the first Trump Administration as Deputy Administrator of Farm Programs for FSA. Pat Swanson will serve as the next RMA Administrator. Most recently, she was a Director for the American Soybean Association (ASA) and completed her term on the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board. Lastly, Colton Buckley was appointed Chief of Staff for NRCS. Before this role, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils. USRPA Signs onto Coalition Letter addressed to USTR on Chinese Shipbuilding Section 301 Remedies: This week, the US Rice Producers Association (USRPA) signed onto a coalition letter led by the Ag CEO Council regarding the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) proposed actions associated with the Section 301 investigation of China’s targeting the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors for dominance. Other signatories of the letter included a wide breadth of the nation’s economy, including importers, exporters, farmers and agribusinesses, retailers, manufacturers, energy providers, wholesalers, and transportation and logistics providers. You can find a copy of the coalition letter here. |
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