Wheat Growers president resigns, may get USDA appointment in Kansas
Eight months after he was elected president of the National Association of Wheat Growers, David Schemm resigned to pursue, in NAWG's words, "other professional opportunities in his home state of Kansas." The High Plains Journal said Schemm "has reportedly been tapped to accept the position of Kansas Farm Service Agency executive director," but there was no official word.
Perdue ‘can’t do it alone,’ say farm groups, asking Trump for USDA appointments
U.S. farmers and ranchers, among President Trump's strongest supporters, are “at a disadvantage” because Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue is running the USDA by himself, said 17 powerhouse farm groups in a letter to the president. It was one of the first expressions of discontent with the administration from the politically conservative farm sector.
DC veteran Goule to become Wheat Growers chief executive
Texas native Chandler Goule, a senior official at the National Farmers Union, will become chief executive of the National Association of Wheat Growers effective July 5, reports Agri-Pulse. The selection follows a suggestion by Jim Palmer, the departing NAWG leader, that the commodity group should recruit someone with experience in farm policy development and advocacy.
Canada more recalcitrant than Japan on trade, says Vilsack
Canada "has not stepped up" in negotiations for the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. He singled out Ottawa when asked if Japan should be dropped from the discussions because of unwillingness to open its agricultural markets to imports. The question, during a meeting of the CFTC's agricultural advisory committee, came from Paul Penner of the National Association of Wheat Growers.