America’s Disappearing Farm and Range Land | Virginia Tech CALS Global (2024)

Paul Spencer joined Corteva Agriscience in January 2019 and is the Global Trade Policy Advocacy Leader. He provides strategic counsel to the company’s business platforms on a range of trade policy issues, including plant breeding innovations, biotechnology asynchronous approvals, low-level presence, and pesticide maximum residue levels.

Paul represents Corteva externally on the the U.S. Grains Council’s Trade Policy Advisory Team, the National Grain and Feed Association’s Crop Technology Committee and the CropLife America Trade Steering Group. He is currently the Chairman of the BIO Innovation Organization’s Agriculture International Working Group. Mr. Spencer began his career with the Department of Agriculture in 1993. From 2010-14, he was Agricultural Counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin and was responsible for USDA programs and policies in Austria, Hungary, and Germany. He has also served at U.S. Embassies in Baghdad, Tokyo, and Vienna.

Mr. Spencer holds an MBA in International Business from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a degree in Economics from Colorado State University. He is married to Sandy MacGregor and they have three children, Grace, Forrest, and John.

Brady J. Deaton was Chancellor of the University of Missouri 2004-2013 and now serves in emeritus status and as Director of the Deaton Institute for University Leadership in International Development at Missouri. He was appointed Chair of BIFAD by President Obama in 2011 and reappointed to a four-year term as a member of BIFAD in January 2016-2020 by President Obama.

He has worked in many countries to strengthen their capacity for agricultural and economic development, and has received three honorary degrees from universities in Thailand and Korea, and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Kentucky. He was elected to the Missouri Cooperatives Hall of Fame. In 2014, he received the Missourian Award and in 2015 was named to the Alumni Hall of Fame of the University of Kentucky.

Deaton served as chair of the Academic Affairs Council of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and participates in advisory roles with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He completed a two-year term as chair of the Missouri Council on Public Higher Education and was chair of the Big 12 Conference Board of Directors. He served as a Board member of the National Foundation of Credit Counselors and is currently a Board member of the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) and Board member of the Soybean Innovation Lab.

He is a recipient of the Malone Award from the APLU for furthering international education in public higher education, was a member of the board of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center throughout his time as Chancellor, and served on the International Committee of the Association of American Universities (AAU). During April, 2014 and in 2015, Deaton served as a “Distinguished Guest in Residence” at New York University.

Alexis Taylor is an Iowa native, with a career focused on U.S. agricultural and trade policy. Prior to her appointment as Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, Alexis was appointed by Oregon Governor Kate Brown as director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) in December 2016. As director, she worked to promote and regulate agriculture and food, keeping the mission to ensure healthy natural resources, environment, and economy for Oregonians now and into the future at the forefront.

Prior to Alexis’ appointment, she oversaw the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services (FFAS). While traveling the world she worked to open new markets and improve the competitive position of U.S. agricultural products in the marketplace. Before joining USDA, Alexis worked for several U.S. Congressman, staffing members from Montana and her home state.

Alexis is a graduate of Iowa State University and grew up on her family farm in Iowa, which has been in her family for 160 years. While still in high school, she enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves. During her junior​ year in college her army unit was deployed to Iraq, where she served one tour with the 389th Combat Engineer Battalion. While no longer an active reservist, Alexis continues to advocate for veterans.​​​​​​​​​​​​

With a background in industrial engineering and economic development, Sergio Rivas began his career in international development 22 years ago. His work in the industry includes roles as Contracts Officer Representative, Senior Director, Chief of Party, Country Representative, Board Member, donor, and volunteer on both public and private sector engagements.

For the past 15 years, Rivas has worked for Tanager’s parent company, ACDI/VOCA, in various senior leadership roles, most recently as Regional Managing Director in Honduras. From 2012-2016 he served as Tanager’s Country Representative in Colombia where he got to know the organization, developing an enormous admiration for its work, its people, and its clients.

Rivas assumed the role of President of Tanager in 2022.

Rosalind (Roz) Leeck is the Executive Director for Market Access and Strategy as well as Northeast Asia Regional Director at the U.S. Soybean Export Council. She oversees strategic program development and implementation including trade and market access issues; membership and industry relations; and communications and marketing efforts. She is also the Regional Director for Northeast Asia responsible for Korea and Japan.

Roz has more than 10 years of experience in the grain trade field with previous positions at Archer Daniels Midland Co. and Demeter L.P. She has also worked for Indiana Corn Marketing Council (ICMC), Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA), and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.

Roz has been involved in a number of industry activities and is currently serving on the Management Council of the International Grain Trade Coalition and as a cleared advisor and vice chair for the USDA and USTR Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade in Grains, Feeds, Oilseeds, and Planting Seeds. Additionally, she serves on the Board of Trustees at Millikin University. Roz originally hails from southern Illinois where she remains a partner in her family’s grain and livestock farm. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, a Master of Business Administration from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana and a Master of Science in Agricultural Economics from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Chris is the President & Chief Executive Officer of the Canola Council of Canada. He is responsible for leading the efforts of the Council’s professional staff and reporting to the Board of Directors on securing the key objectives of the Canadian canola industry.

Chris first joined the Council in August 2021 as Vice President, Stakeholder and Industry Relations. Prior to joining the Council, Chris spent nearly 10 years with a global life sciences company serving as Head of Business Sustainability for North America and prior to that Head of Corporate Affairs for Canada.

Chris also spent several years on the consulting side of the agri-food industry working in government and industry relations, corporate communications and public affairs to advance issues and opportunities at the global, regional, national and sub-national levels for a diverse set of private sector and association clients.

Earlier in his career, Chris worked for the Canadian federal government on animal health, plant health, and food safety related issues in support of Canadian bilateral and multilateral trade relationships and negotiations.

Dr. Saharah Moon Chapotin joined the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) as the executive director in August 2022.

Chapotin is a plant scientist who is passionate about sharing the importance of plants and agriculture. She has more than 15 years of experience in federal leadership, using science to inform policy and advancing agriculture research. Most recently, Chapotin served as the executive director of theUnited States Botanic Garden(USBG), a position she held from 2018 to 2022.

Prior to her role at USBG, Chapotin worked at the United States Department of Agriculture and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for over 11 years. She held multiple positions at USAID, serving as the deputy assistant administrator in USAID’s Bureau for Food Security. Earlier in her career, Chapotin completed fellowships at Iowa State University and the National Academies working on issues of biosafety policy, scientific communication and national security. She further conducted research on forest ecology and canopy biology throughout the United States, Madagascar and Costa Rica.

Chapotin holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Stanford University and a doctorate in plant physiology from Harvard University.

Christina is a seasoned communications professional with over 30 years’ experience, including 14 in international development. Her background in business development, communications and public relations fully informs her strategic communications initiatives at IFDC.

As Strategic Communications Manager for IFDC, she regularly collaborates with IFDC’s international project staff, partners, and donors to design and implement evidence-based strategic communications campaigns. She tells big stories about the Center’s work in soil health and plant nutrition, inclusive market systems, and innovative technologies for a food-secure and environmentally sustainable world.

Prior to joining IFDC, Christina was with the National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA), serving as a technical writer and proposal manager in their International Division. As communications manager at Making Cents International, she developed and implemented project-level communications strategies, especially regarding youth development activities under USAID’s flagship YouthPower Learning project. While at URC as a communications specialist, she developed, executed, and monitored communications strategies to support corporate and project objectives, including creating and facilitating #GBVChat, an annual all-day conversation about ending gender-based violence that engaged 10,000+ unique participants in its first year, while standing up the organization’s social media platforms and story-telling strategies.

As Director of Communications at the Arab American Institute, she created and executed strategies for long-term advocacy as well as for fast-breaking crisis situations, including a daily analysis of the Gaza War (Operation Cast Lead) for media and AAI membership.

Pierre Petelle is the president and CEO of CropLife Canada, the trade association that represents the Canadian manufacturers, developers and distributors of pest control products and plants with novel traits. Pierre joined CropLife Canada in 2008 and is now responsible for the strategic direction and leadership of the association.

CropLife Canada’s goals include improving public confidence in our members’ technologies, facilitating a positive regulatory environment, ensuring proper stewardship of our industry’s products and building collaborative stakeholder relationships.

Prior to joining CropLife Canada, Pierre worked in the policy office at Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency where he worked on a wide range of issues relevant to Canada’s plant science industry. Pierre holds degrees from Carleton University and the University of Guelph.

Mr. François Chrétien received his bachelor of sciences in agriculture from McGill University and his master’s degree in Water Sciences from the National Institute of Scientific Research. Following is graduated studies he has been involved in numerous water-focused initiatives throughout Canada and around the world. Within Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada he served as: Water Sourcing and Planning Specialist; Water Management Scientist; Chief of the water management team; before moving on to executive management as Director for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) living labs.

Since 2017, François has been responsible for the development of AAFC’s Living Laboratories Initiative aimed at building resilience in the agricultural landscape. François was also central to the development and implementation of AAFC’s new program, the Agricultural Climate Solutions program, that is establishing a national network of living labs right across Canada to tackle climate change issues. He has worked with multiple Canadian and international partners in order to develop this new approach to agricultural innovation, including the G20 working group on Agroecosystems living labs. Under François leadership, Canada has been paving the way to implement this user-centred approach where farmers and scientists work together from start to finish; where transdisciplinary teams, including experts from various disciplines and backgrounds, tackle a common issue together; and where projects are conducted in real life experimental setups meaning that working farms are the incubators of innovative technologies.

François has real, tangible experience in developing innovative solutions for a productive, sustainable and resilient agriculture sector.

Jocelyn Brown Hall is the Director of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Liaison Office for North America based in Washington, DC. Prior to this role she served as the Deputy Regional Representative for the FAO Regional Office for Africa, where she oversaw 47 FAO country offices and guided strategy and communications around food security, agriculture, climate change, agrifood trade, animal and plant health, among other topics. She has also served as the FAO Representative for Ghana, where she worked with ministries of agriculture, fisheries, social protection and trade on advancing issues such as healthy school meals, rehabilitating lands contaminated by illegal mining, sustainable aquaculture and fish smoking, and digitalization of agriculture data.

Before joining FAO, Jocelyn was Deputy Administrator in the Foreign Agricultural Service, where she led the USDA’s USD $2 billion food and technical assistance programs in low- and middle-income countries. She oversaw the world’s largest international school meals program, serving over 4 million school children globally, and numerous fellowship programs that served tens and thousands of agriculturalists.

She also served as the lead expert on USDA’s technical relationship with international organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture, and various international research centers.

Dr. Canisius Kanangire is the Executive Director at AATF. He previously was the Executive Secretary of the African Ministers’ Council on Water. He has held other positions including, Executive Secretary of the Lake Victoria Basin Commission; Regional Manager for Capacity Building and Head of Strategic Planning and Management at the Nile Basin Initiative; Lecturer and Dean – Faculty of Agriculture, University of Rwanda.

He holds a PhD and MSc in Aquatic Sciences from the University of Namur (Belgium), a Degree in Biology majoring in Environmental Sciences, and an Undergraduate Certificate in Biology and Chemistry from the “Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de Bukavu.

Andrés Rodríguez is the current Agricultural Attaché of Chile to the United States and Canada, based in Washington DC.

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business from Diego Portales University (Chile), a Master’s Degree in Marketing from Griffith University (Queensland, Australia), and a Postgraduate Certificate in International Business from the University of Chile.

He has extensive experience in agribusiness. After his experience in other industries, he landed to the agriculture when he was appointed as Marketing Manager for the US and Latin America in the Chilean Fresh Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX). Within his background he also was Executive Director of the Chilean Walnut Commission, Executive Director of Chile Prunes, and Representative in Chile of the Produce Marketing Association (PMA), that currently is the International Fresh Produce Association. He was also Board Member and Counselor of the National Society of Agriculture (SNA) and was a member of the Food Export Council of Chile.

Stewart Leeth is chief sustainability officer for Smithfield Foods, Inc. Based at the company’s headquarters in Smithfield, Virginia, Leeth leads the company’s global sustainability strategies, which now focus on seven core pillars: animal welfare; diversity, equity and inclusion; environmental stewardship; food safety and quality; health and wellness; helping local communities and worker health and safety. He also leads Smithfield’s environmental compliance programs.

Leeth joined Smithfield Foods’ legal department in 2008 and served in a variety of legal, regulatory and government affairs roles with the company before being appointed to his current position in 2016. Under his leadership, the company has announced several industry-first carbon reduction goals, met its commitment to move pregnant sows into group housing on company-owned farms and exceeded its goal to source feed from farms utilizing precision farming techniques that reduce fertilizer use in the company’s supply chain. More recently, Smithfield has reported substantial progress toward its original GHG reduction target and has adopted even greater climate targets, including a 30% GHG reduction goal under the Science Based Targets initiative and a pledge to become carbon negative in all U.S. company-owned operations by 2030.

Prior to joining Smithfield Foods, Leeth was a partner at a major global law firm, where he represented the firm’s clients before federal and state courts and agencies in matters involving major federal and state environmental statutes, water rights disputes, cost recovery and contaminated property litigation, rulemaking and permitting. He also focused on state and local government matters and land-use disputes.

Leeth previously served as Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia, representing a variety of state agencies, and began his legal career working as a law clerk to a federal judge presiding in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

A veterinarian, clinical pharmacologist, teacher, researcher, and distinguished academic leader, Dr. Cyril R. Clarke became the Executive Vice President and Provost of Virginia Tech in January 2019, after serving in an interim capacity since November 2017.

A native of Johannesburg, South Africa, Clarke earned his professional veterinary degree from the University of Pretoria, South Africa, a Ph.D. in veterinary pharmacology from Louisiana State University, and a master’s degree in higher education from Oklahoma State University. He is certified as a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Clinical Pharmacology.

Clarke’s initial faculty appointment in 1987 was at Oklahoma State University, where he also served as an academic department head and associate dean for academic affairs in the Center for Veterinary Health Sciences. Funded by corporate, state, and federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Institutes of Health, Clarke’s research focused on the interactions between antibacterial agents, animal patients, and infectious microbes. He is a recipient of the Pfizer Award for Research Excellence.

In 2007, Clarke was appointed to the position of Lois Bates Acheson Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University. During his time as dean, Clarke continued to teach pharmacology to veterinary students. In addition to receiving a Certificate of Excellence in Teaching, Clarke was honored with the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association’s President’s Award. He subsequently joined Virginia Tech in October, 2013, as Dean of the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine.

Clarke has held leadership positions in several professional organizations, including the board of directors for the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges and past president of the American College of Veterinary Clinical Pharmacology. He is also a past member of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board and the AVMA Council on Education, the accrediting agency for veterinary medical education in North America.

Dr. Jewel H. Bronaugh was appointed the 16th Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in 2018 by Governor Ralph Northam. She previously served as the Virginia State Executive Director for the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA), appointed by Governor Terry McAuliffe and then-U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, in July 2015. Prior to her FSA appointment, she served as Dean of the College of Agriculture at Virginia State University (VSU) with oversight of Extension, Research and Academic Programs. Previously she was the Associate Administrator for Extension Programs and a 4-H Extension Specialist.

In spring 2019, Dr. Bronaugh launched the Virginia Farmer Stress Task Force to raise awareness and coordinate resources to address farmer stress and mental health challenges in Virginia. In the fall of 2020, she helped establish the Virginia Food Access Investment Fund and Program, the first statewide program of its kind to address food access within historically marginalized communities.

Dr. Bronaugh received her Ph.D. in Career and Technical Education from Virginia Tech. She is passionate about the advancement of youth leadership in agriculture. Dr. Bronaugh is from Petersburg, Virginia. She is married to Cleavon, a retired United States Army Veteran.

Dr. Canisius Kanangire is the Executive Director at AATF. He previously was the
Executive Secretary of the African Ministers’ Council on Water. He has held other positions including, Executive Secretary of the Lake Victoria Basin Commission; Regional Manager for Capacity Building and Head of Strategic Planning and Management at the Nile Basin Initiative; Lecturer and Dean – Faculty of Agriculture, University of Rwanda.

He holds a PhD and MSc in Aquatic Sciences from the University of Namur (Belgium), a Degree in Biology majoring in Environmental Sciences, and an Undergraduate Certificate in Biology and Chemistry from the “Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de Bukavu.

Nancy W. Mungaiis a professor of soil science with research interests in biological nitrogen fixation in grain legumes, biological agricultural inputs, and relevance of soil-based approaches for adaptation & mitigation to climate change. She has successfully coordinated twelve research projects and several student internship programs. Nancy is currently involved in a project titled “Transforming African Agricultural Universities to meaningfully to contribute to Africa’s growth and development (TAGDev) a partnership of Egerton university withGulu University funded byMastercard FoundationthroughRUFORUM.The project has supported over 110 undergraduate and 110 postgraduate students to pursue various agricultural related disciplines including agronomy, horticulture, agribusiness and food nutrition and security. TAGDev has piloted an innovative model for agricultural training that facilitates agricultural students to work closely with rural communities to foster food system transformation. Community action research approaches have been at the center of TAGDev project implementation.

Nancy is also a member of a research consortium lead by Michigan State University dubbed “Sustainable Agricultural Intensification and Rural Economic Transformation (SAIRET+)” that is developing longer term proposal to support increased agricultural productivity through sustainable fertilizer use in Africa.

Nancy has supervised over 20graduate students and has published 72 publications in internationally refereed and peer-reviewed journals, conference proceedings and technical reports.

Administratively, Nancy is the Ag. Director in charge of Researchand Extensionat Egerton Universitysince March 2020. Previously she served as the Director in charge of undergraduate studies and field attachment programs for 9 years.

Florah joined Farm Input Promotions Africa (FIPS) just after college, in 2013 as a monitoring and evaluation officer.

After two years, she was promoted to lead training, which included development of training curriculums and deploying the curriculum to farmers and trainers of trainers.

Florah has also coordinated programs within FIPS such as youth work and potato work.

Currently, she leads the partnership development work that includes developing new relationships, developing ideas for funding, and maintaining existing relationships, among other roles.

Tim Njagi is a seasoned Development Economist with a wealth of 15 years of experience in the fields of development planning, policy implementation and research. He holds a PhD in Development Economics and Master’s Degree in International Development from the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), Japan.

He has experience working in the public sector having worked with the National Treasury and Planning in Kenya and is currently a Fellow with Tegemeo Institute of Agricultural Policy and Development of Egerton University.

His current research focus is on farm productivity, technology adoption, irrigation, governance, resilience and impact evaluation., irrigation, credit, governance, land issues, and resilience, where he has a number of publications.

He is also a member of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE), African Association of Agricultural Economics (AAAE), African Evaluation Association (AfREA), Evaluation Society of Kenya (ESK), and the Institute of Economic Affairs (EIA) in Kenya.

He aspires to make a significant contribution towards addressing food insecurity and poverty in developing countries.

Isaac Kibwage is currently the Vice-Chancellor of Egerton University. He has variously initiated and/or guided development and implementation of the strategic plan for 2018-2023 and policies of the University.

Isaac Kibwage is on leave of absence from the University of Nairobi where he serves as a Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry in the School of Pharmacy. He has published widely in his discipline.

During May 2007- May 2017, Isaac Kibwage served as the Principal of College of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi where he was the Academic Research, Financial and Administrative head of the college. The College comprises the Schools of; Medicine, Pharmacy, Dental Siences, Nursing Sciences and Public Health, the University of Nairobi Institute of Tropical and Infectious Dieases, KAVI-Institute of Clinical Research, the East Africa Kidney Institute and the Centre for HIV/Aids Research and Prevention. He was responsible for all research activities at the College ensuring compliance to project objectives and prudent utilization of resources per approved budgets. Isaac Kibwage handled College responsibilities and guided its expansion and excellent performance culminating in it being awarded a Shield as ”Center of Excellence in the Health Sciences” by the East African Community in 2014. Further, research funding grew about four times and the College had a continuous level of ‘Excellent performance’ in performance contracting amongst the six colleges of the University.

Isaac Kibwage has held various positions in the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya including the Chairmanship for a period of 6 years. He has broad experience in the pharmaceutical regulatory systems locally and internationally, and specifically in the quality control and quality assurance of medicines. Due to his commitment and exemplary pharmaceutical services, Isaac Kibwage was awarded the “Head of State Commendation“ and the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya conferred on him the title of “Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya.”

Humphrey joined DuPont Pioneer in 2015 as a Marketing Leader for Eastern Southern Central Africa Region. In 2016, he was appointed the Commercial leader for Kenya responsible for the Pioneer and Pannar Seed brands.

In 2017, he was appointed to his current role as Country Leader/Director for Corteva Agriscience Kenya and Greatlakes Countries (Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi & DRC).

Prior to joining Pioneer, Humphrey worked at Syngenta AG for 10 years in various roles; Business Manager for Smallholder Segment, Marketing Manager Strategy and planning, Area Sales Manager amongst other roles.

Education Background:

Masters Business Administration (Strategic Management), The University of Nairobi.

Bachelor of Science Degree in Horticulture, Egerton University.

Tony Fernandes became Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Trade Policy and Negotiations in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs in March 2022, after having served as Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary since August 2021.

Prior to that, Tony was Director of the Multilateral Trade Affairs Office in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

Previously, Tony was Director for Regional Affairs in the Bureau of Legislative Affairs and Director for Africa and Middle East Programs in the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. He also served in the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the Diplomatic Readiness Task Force, and the Operations Center. His overseas assignments include positions in Turkey, Nigeria, Russia, Canada, and China.

Tony joined the Foreign Service in 1997 and is a member of the Senior Foreign Service.

He holds a B.A. from Boston College, a J.D. from the University of Minnesota School of Law, and a Master’s in National Security Strategy from the National War College.

NO!

Yield and total factor productivity are ratios of outputs to inputs, but they are not the same, and the distinction matters.

Yield measures output per unit of a single input, for example, the amount of crops grown on a hectare of land. Yields can increase through productivity growth, but they can also increase by applying more inputs, called input intensification. Therefore, an increase in yield may or may not represent improvements in sustainability.

Total factor productivity captures the interaction between multiple agricultural inputs and outputs. (Ortiz-Bobea et al., 2021) TFP growth indicates that more farmers generate more crops, livestock, and aquaculture products with the same amount or less land, labor, fertilizer, feed, machinery, and livestock. As a result, TFP is a powerful metric for evaluating and monitoring the sustainability of agricultural systems.