New U.S. deputy undersecretary, foreign ag services

New U.S. deputy undersecretary, foreign ag services    U.S. Department of Agriculture has appointed Burnham John 'Bud' Philbrook deputy undersecretary for farm and foreign agricultural services.
   He will be involved with the Farm Services Agency (FSA), Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and Risk Management Agency (RMA). RMA and FSA programs help producers manage their business risks and improve the stability of the domestic agricultural economy. FAS works to expand existing and new markets for U.S. agricultural products, improve the competitive position of these products in the global market, and provide food aid and technical assistance to other countries.
   Prior to this appointment, Philbrook and his wife Michele Gran co-founded St. Paul, Minn.-based Global Volunteers in 1984. The non-profit sends up to 2,500 volunteers each year to 20 developing countries to work with local people on agricultural, educational and heath care matters.
   Before that he worked on the presidential campaigns of Sens. Eugene McCarthy and George McGovern in 1972. In 1974, Philbrook was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives. Following that, he was assistant commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. He was also a consultant to the Rural Ventures Program at the Control Data Corp.