Unilever CEO to retire, Target CEO joins Yum! Brands’ board of directors and more
ASSOCIATIONS/ORGANIZATIONS: The U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), Denver, Colo. Conley Nelson, general manager of Smithfield's hog production division, was elected chairman, succeeding Dennis Stiffler, president of Halperns’ Steak and Seafood’s Texas division. Nelson has been involved in contract pork production since 1983. Cevin Jones, owner of Intermountain Beef, was named chair-elect. Jones served as vice chairman of the Federation of State Beef Councils and on the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) board of directors. Pat Binger, vice president of international sales for Cargill Protein Group, was named vice chair. Binger first became involved with USMEF more than 25 years ago. Mark Swanson, chief executive officer of Birko Corp., was elected secretary-treasurer. Swanson maintains more than 20 years of experience in the protein industry, including having served at Iowa Beef Processors, ConAgra Foods and Swift & Co.
The Soil Health Partnership, St. Louis, Mo. Dr. Maria Bowman was tapped to the newly created position of lead scientist, responsible for building a unique and extensive U.S. database of soil health samples from working farms, analyzing them, and drawing conclusions that could impact agriculture for decades to come. Previously, Bowman worked as an economist for the United States Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service, where she focused on the drivers of farmer adoption of soil health and conservation practices, the economics of antibiotic use in U.S. livestock production and emerging issues related to food labeling. Before her work with the USDA, Bowman served as a fellow for the Natural Resources Defense Council and as a program assistant for the Woods Hole Research Center, where she studied the economics of farm systems in the Brazilian Amazon.