NASDA Elects Officers at Annual Meeting
News Date October 09, 2007
North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson was elected the new president of NASDA during its annual meeting in Seattle, Washington, on September 25. He succeeds Washington State Agriculture Director Valoria Loveland.
Johnson said that NASDA is playing a critical role in helping shape the 2007 farm bill. "An improved safety net for agriculture, interstate shipment of state-inspected meat products, and a permanent disaster title are all NASDA ideas or NASDA-supported ideas, and all are likely to be part of the final farm bill package," he told the group.
The other officers include Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks, president-elect; Delaware Agriculture Secretary Michael Scuse, vice president; and Utah Agriculture Commissioner Leonard Blackham, secretary-treasurer. Other members of the Board include Loveland, past president; Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Gene Hugoson, at-large; Connecticut Agriculture Commissioner Philip Prelli, NEASDA representative; Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer, SASDA representative; Illinois Agriculture Director Chuck Hartke, MASDA representative; and California Agriculture Secretary A.G. Kawamura, WASDA representative.
Johnson said now that the debate over the new farm bill is nearing an end, the organization still has important issues to deal with, such as renewable energy, trade, climate change and especially food safety and consumer confidence. "Food is a basic human need," he said. "We must invest in and uphold food safety and quality assurance efforts . . . any loss of public confidence in our agricultural production and processing is something we cannot afford."
Johnson will host NASDA's annual meeting in North Dakota in September 2008. (Contact: Rick Kirchhoff)