Secretary Vilsack Appoints New Members to USDA NAREE Advisory Board

WASHINGTON, April 8, 2014 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the appointment of eight individuals to serve on the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board.

The NAREEE Advisory Board advises the Secretary of Agriculture and land-grant colleges and universities on top national priorities and policies for food and agricultural research, education, extension, and economics. In addition, the Board holds stakeholder listening sessions, reviews draft guidance for competitive-grant programs, advises the Agriculture Research Service on its scientific peer review process for national programs, conducts an annual review of all agricultural research, extension, or education activities conducted or funded by the Department for relevance to national priorities and adequacy of funding, and advises the USDA's Research, Education, and Economics (REE) Mission Area in the development of its draft Strategic Plan.

The following members have been appointed to a 3-year term expiring September 30, 2016:

• Dr. Govind Kannan, Dean and Director, College of Agriculture, Family Sciences and Technology, Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, GA, and a member of the American Society of Animal Science has been appointed to represent Category F. National Food Animal Science Society.
• Dr. Robert Taylor, Dean and Director, Land Grant Programs, College of Agriculture and Food Science, Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, FL, has been re-appointed to represent Category G. National Crop, Soil, Agronomy, Horticulture, or Weed Science Societies.
• Dr. Chandra Reddy, Dean and Director of Research/Administrator of Extension, College of Agriculture, Human and Natural Sciences, Tennessee State University in Nashville, TN, has been re-appointed to serve Category L. 1890 Land-Grant Colleges and Universities.
• Dr. Neil Olson, Dean, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri in Columbia, MO, will represent Category P. American Colleges of Veterinary Medicine.
• Twilya L'Ecuyer, farmer and owner of L'Ecuyer Farms and L'Ecuyer Gardens and owner of the CURE Group, a consulting firm, from Morrowville, KS will represent Category T. Rural Economic Development.
• Dr. Rita Green, Assistant Professor of Consumer Economics, School of Human Sciences at Mississippi State University, Starkville MS, has been re-appointed to represent Category U. National Consumer Interests.
• Dr. Steven Daley-Laursen, Senior Executive, Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, and Professor of the College of Natural Resources, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, has been re-appointed to represent Category V. National Forestry Groups.
• Dr. Carrie Castille, Associate Commissioner and Senior Science Advisor, Louisiana Department of Agriculture & Forestry in Baton Rouge, LA, has been re-appointed to represent Category W. National Conservation or Natural Resource Groups.

Each of the 25 NAREEE Advisory Board members represents a specific category of U.S. Agricultural stakeholders as outlined in the 2008 Food, Energy, and Conservation Act. These areas include farming or ranching, food production and processing, forestry research, crop and animal science, land-grant institutions, non-land grant college or university with a historic commitment to research in the food and agricultural sciences, food retailing and marketing, rural economic development, and natural resource and consumer interest groups, among many others. Each member serves a 2-3 year appointment. Terms for members overlap so that approximately one-third of the Board is replaced and/or reappointed each year.

For additional information, please contact Michele Esch, Executive Director, NAREEE Advisory Board, Room 3870, South Building, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-0321, Telephone: 202-720-3684, Fax: 202-720-6199, or e-mail: Michele.Esch@usda.gov.

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