USDA promotes Link to AMS, Van Doren GIPSA top posts

USDA promotes Link to AMS, Van Doren GIPSA top posts The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it has appointed James E. Link to administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service, effective Nov. 3.
   Link, who replaces Lloyd Day, served as administrator for the USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) since 2005.
   As head of AMS, Link will direct several marketing programs that facilitate the efficient marketing of U.S. agricultural products, including food, fiber and specialty crops, in the global market.
   The USDA also appointed Terry Van Doren to GIPSA administrator. GIPSA facilitates the marketing of livestock, poultry, meat, cereals, oilseeds and related agricultural products as well as promotes fair and competitive trading practices for the overall benefit of consumers and American agriculture. The agency is also part of the USDA’s Marketing and Regulatory Programs, which works to ensure a competitive international marketplace for U.S. agricultural products.
   Van Doren joined the USDA in 2005 to work on research, education and economic policy issues and then as senior advisor to the Marketing and Regulatory Programs undersecretary. He took a one-year leave of absence from the USDA in 2007 to work for Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell during the development of the 2008 Farm Bill.