Ed Avalos, the agriculture undersecretary in charge of marketing and regulatory programs, will leave USDA in mid-September, said The Hagstrom Report. Given the short time before a new administration takes office, a spokesman told the newsletter that USDA would try to promote someone already in office to handle the job for the next few months.
The undersecretary’s portfolio includes the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which oversees biotechnology among many duties; the Agricultural Marketing Service, in charge of price reporting and producer-funded “check-off” programs; and the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, in charge of fair-marketing practices in agriculture.
Avalos was director of marketing and development for the New Mexico Agriculture Department before joining USDA in the early days of the Obama administration. A USDA biography said, “He has over 30 years experience in livestock and agriculture marketing in both the domestic and international arenas.