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IDFA promotes Soubra to chief of staff

Sherry and Ron Mari were surprised to receive the President’s Award from Robert Campbell, right. The Mari family was thanked for its dedication to coordinating Simmental events at National Western Stock Show.
Colorado Simmental Association |

The International Dairy Foods Association has promoted Heather Soubra to the new position of chief of staff, IDFA President and CEO Michael Dykes said in a news release.

Soubra joined IDFA in 2008 and most recently held the title of director of industry relations and special projects.

“Now that we’re moving as an association into the implementation phase of my 100-day plan, IDFA needs a strong chief of staff with Heather’s organizational, communication and diplomatic skills to make sure we’re working as effectively and efficiently as possible,” said Dykes, who joined IDFA in October after retiring from Monsanto.



In addition to managing Dykes’s office, Soubra will continue to serve as the executive office liaison with the board of directors, members, a large network of trade association executives and handle special projects, starting with the creation of a summer internship program, the new release said.

“She has built and maintained excellent rapport with our members and external partners over the years, and I have no doubt she will continue to be an asset to our operations in her new role,” Dykes said.



Soubra holds a degree in intercultural communications from George Mason University and is a graduate of The Protocol School of Washington, where she earned certification in corporate etiquette and international protocol.

Nebraska student named NCTAA Aggie of the Month

Maggie Brunmeier of Bayard, Neb., has been named Aggie of the Month at the Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture at Curtis.

Brunmeier was selected from nominations by faculty and staff as the NCTA Aggie for January, announced Ron Rosati, NCTA dean.

The second-year student has a double major in agricultural business and agronomy. Following the completion of two associate degrees from NCTA in December 2017, Brunmeier will pursue a bachelor’s degree in agriscience from the University of Nebraska- Lincoln.

“I hope to have a career as an agronomist and serve at the agriculture community back home,” Brunmeier said. “For the past four summers I have worked with Western Nebraska Seed and Chemical in Scottsbluff and hope to continue working there after graduation.”

The Bayard High School graduate was nominated by Brad Ramsdale, associate professor of agronomy. He noted Brunmeier’s leadership and involvement in student organizations as well as her excellent work ethic and academics.

Recently, she was one of six students named to the fall semester Dean’s List with a 4.0 grade point average. She also is a member of Phi Theta Kappa honor society.

Her activities include being a member of the NCTA Crops Judging Team, Women in Ag, Ag Business Club and president of Collegiate Farm Bureau where she is serving her second year as the club’s representative to NCTA Student Senate.

As Farm Bureau president, Brunmeier attended the Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation convention in December as one of two voting delegates representing Nebraska’s collegiate organizations.

Boehner appointed to JBS board

SAO PAULO, Brazil — JBS S.A. announced Jan. 30 it has appointed former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives John Boehner to the board of directors of its subsidiary JBS Foods International. Boehner was one of five board members recently appointed. Boehner was the 53rd speaker of the house and served as a representative for Ohio’s 8th Congressional District from 1991-2015. In Congress, he served as vice chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture and as chairman for the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce. He was the House majority leader from 2006-2007 and House minority leader from 2006-2010. In January 2011, he was elected U.S. Speaker of the House. After more than 30 years of public service, he retired from Congress in October 2015, Boehner is currently a senior strategic adviser at Squire Patton Boggs, a global law and public policy firm. There, he provides strategic advice and counsels clients on the topic of domestic and international policy He aslso serves as a member of the board of directors of Reynolds American. Greg Heckman, Charles Macaluso, Steven Mills and Dimitri Panayotopoulos also were appoionted to JBS Foods International’s board of directors.

Simmental presents awards during NWSS

Colorado Simmental Association presented several awards in conjunction with its National Western Stock Show-hosted events.

T-Heart Ranch of Center was named CSA’s 2016 Breeder of the Year winner. The Outstanding Breeder award recognizes breed promotion, marketing and breeding success. T-Heart Ranch, operated by the Shane Temple family, runs about 800 registered and 1,000 commercial Simmental-influenced cows in Colorado’s high country. In addition to cow/calf pairs, they operate a feedlot at 8,000-feet elevation, where they develop their sale bulls. Not only are their bulls PAP tested before being offered in their March sale, but their herd has multi-generation PAP tested pedigrees to allow ranchers to select for high-altitude success. Shane and Beth Temple and their four children also host a female sale each December. T-Heart served as junior field day and state Simmental tour host in 2015. Beth Temple also is an active volunteer as CSA’s vice-president. The Temple family was presented an embroidered cowhide at the Wild, Wild West sale on Jan. 17.

Mari family of Holyoke honored by CSA

Ron and Sherry Mari of Holyoke were presented the President’s Award at the start of the sale. The Mari family has been a vital mainstay of CSA’s National Western activities, said CSA President Robert Campbell as he thanked them for their volunteerism. Ron has served as pen show chairman for about 20 years and the couple has also continuously catered the pre-sale barbecue before The One sale at National Western. The Mari family also hosted the state Simmental tour in 2013 and Ron previously served on CSA’s board of directors. They were caught by surprise as they were called into the ring for the presentation.

CSA awards scholarships

The Colorado Simmental Association presentated two scholarships. Chad Russell of Sugar City and Keanna Smith of Ignacio, each received college funding from CSA. President Robert Campbell thanked them for their years of junior leadership. Russell, a junior, is double majoring in animal science and mathematics at Colorado State University-Fort Collins, and Smith is a freshman at Redlands Community College and plans to pursue nursing. Colorado Simmental volunteers host the breed’s numerous shows and events at National Western Stock Show, said CSA’s secretary Susan Russell. “National Western is the Livestock Super Bowl. We are a small but mighty organization with phenomenal volunteers who help make the National Western Stock Show breed events run smoothly. We also thank the American Simmental Association staff, and exhibitors for an outstanding event to showcase our performance-oriented breed.” For more information, go to coloradosimmental.com. National Western Stock Show is a 16-day event in Denver. The 2017 show, which drew about 680,000 people, marked the 111th year as the premier livestock, rodeo and horse show in the nation.

Hafemeister, Bartuska USDA acting undersecretaries

Jason Hafemeister is the acting U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary for farm and foreign agriculture services, and Ann Bartuska is the acting undersecretary for research, education and economics, according to the Hagstrom Report.

USDA sources also said that members of President Donald Trump’s USDA landing team began fanning out to the divisions of USDA on Jan. 24 to be briefed on current issues. In his regular job, Hafemeister, a civil servant, is the trade policy coordinator at the Foreign Agriculture Service and has been the acting associate administrator. Hafemeister rejoined USDA in May 2013 as an economist in the Office of the Chief Economist. He worked in the private sector from 2007 to 2013 for AFJ & Associates, a trade consulting firm founded by Allan Johnson, a former U.S. chief agricultural negotiator. Hafemeister was deputy assistant trade representative from 1999 to 2007. During that time he was the lead negotiator for agriculture in the Doha Development Agenda at the WTO, the Central American — Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement, and China’s WTO accession. Hafemeister first worked at USDA as an international economist at FAS from 1991 to 1999. Bartuska, also a civil servant, was the deputy undersecretary at REE during the Obama administration. She came to REE from the USDA Forest Service, where she was deputy chief for research and development. She served as acting USDA deputy undersecretary for natural resources and environment from January to October of 2009, and earlier was the executive director of the Invasive Species Initiative at The Nature Conservancy. Prior to this, she was the director of the Forest and Rangelands staff in the Forest Service. Bartuska also co-chaired the Ecological Systems Subcommittee of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources of the White House National Science and Technology Council and also is co-chair of the Sustainability Roundtable of the National Academy of Sciences. She is active in the Ecological Society of America, serving as vice president for Public Affairs from 1996 to 1999 and as president from 2002 to 2003. She has served on the Board of the Council of Science Society Presidents and is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and of the Society of American Foresters.

WELD COUNTY 4-H ANNOUNCES SHOOTING SPORTS AMBASSADORS

Weld County (Colo.) 4-H is proud to announce that Cambrilynn Butterworth, Greeley, Courtney Patton, Briggsdale, Andrew Littlefield, Stoneham, and Bryce Endreson, Briggsdale, were recently chosen to serve as Colorado State 4-H Shooting Sports Ambassadors. As ambassadors, they will be representing over 82,000 4-H youth from across Colorado. “The Colorado 4-H Shooting Sports Ambassadors are a diverse and united group of Colorado 4-H members who are dedicated to providing leadership and knowledge to 4-H youth through shooting sports with an emphasis on positive youth development, safe inclusive environments and promoting integrity,” said Sam Lowry, State 4-H Youth Development Specialist in Animal Science and Shooting Sports. One of the goals of the ambassador team is to provide opportunities for youth to build character. Colorado 4-H Shooting Sports support the Character Counts six pillars of character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.

The 4-H SS program has been in Colorado for over 25 years. The program is in 49 states and 500,000 youth participate nationally in the program, mentored by 30,000 certified adult volunteer instructors. Butterworth, Patton, Littlefield and Endreson are four of nine ambassadors from six counties across Colorado. Shooting Sports is one of Colorado’s largest 4-H program areas with close to 3,900 members. Colorado 4-H also the second largest state fair shooting contest in the country. Objectives of the program include instilling ethics, sportsmanship and responsibility as well as developing leadership skills and promoting the safe storage and handling of firearms and archery equipment.

OLSON, POPP COMPETED IN NATIONAL WOOL CONTESTAbigail Olson of Sargent and Charmayne Popp of Broken Bow, Neb., represented Nebraska at the National Make It With Wool competition held in conjunction with the American Sheep Industry Association Convention, Jan. 26-28, in Denver, according to Alice Doane, State MIWW director. The wool contest has been conducted for 69 years. Junior Division contestant, Olson was third runner-up. For her entry, she constructed and modeled a black wool blazer and red and black plaid wool skirt. Her semi-fitted jacket featured a notched collar and princess seams. The lined pleated skirt featured an invisible zipper, side seam pockets and waistband. Abigail is the daughter of Pete and Kayla Olson. Popp competed in the senior division. For her entry, she constructed and modeled a navy blue wool coat. The semi-fitted, coat featured yokes, collar band, side pockets, and two-piece sleeves. She is the daughter of Beryl and Tracy Popp. Merna Hanson of Juniata received 7th place in the adult division. The adult division competition is based on a video, narration and garment construction prior to the National Contest. Hanson constructed a black wool dress and a royal purple wool coat. The trip and contest were sponsored by the American Wool Council, American Sheep Industry Association, American Sheep Industry Women, and the Nebraska Sheep and Goat Industry.

COLORADO AG LEADERSHIP PROGRAM HIRES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

CENTENNIAL, Colo. — The Colorado Ag Leadership Program announced the addition of Dani Traweek, Pueblo, Colo., as their executive director. Traweek comes to CALP by way of the Colorado State Fair. She brings experience in fundraising, event marketing and advertising. Growing up in Wyoming on the family sheep farm in a rural town, involvement in 4-H and FFA, a Master of Agriculture from Colorado State University and history in the fair and rodeo industry all lend to a diverse background in Agriculture. “I’m excited to begin this journey with CALP as it represents everything I’m passionate about; agriculture and helping agriculturists build valuable leadership, entrepreneurial and communications skills to navigate an ever-increasing complicated world of consumer concern, government policy and technology,” Traweek said. Traweek anticipates “hitting the ground running” on Feb. 10 with the upcoming 26th Annual Governor’s Ag Forum taking place at the Renaissance Hotel in Denver on Feb. 22, which will serve as the final project for the 12th graduating class from the program. Class 13 has been selected and will shadow Class 12 as they begin their venture into an intense two year program of leadership development, agriculture industry issues, gubernatorial navigation and international agriculture impacts. Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg serves as the president of the CALP board boasting members from all walks of agriculture stated, “We are excited about the energy and excitement that Dani brings to our program. Her dedication to agriculture and training leaders in our industry will take the CALP program to new heights.”


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