J.B. Penn

J.B. Penn is the Chief Economist for John Deere & Company. He is also on the board of International Food & Agricultural Trade Policy Council. Previously, he was the Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services at the USDA.


 * "J. B. Penn is Chief Economist for John Deere & Co. Before joining the company in August 2006, he served as Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services in the United States Department of Agriculture for more than five years. Penn is a native of Arkansas and holds an undergraduate degree from Arkansas State University, M. S. from Louisiana State University and a Ph. D. from Purdue University. He began his career with USDA where he held several increasingly responsible positions including Deputy Administrator for Economics in the Economics and Statistics Service. He also served as Senior Staff Economist in the President’s Council of Economic Advisers. Following his work in the federal government, Dr. Penn moved to the private sector for more than two decades. He was a founding principal and president of Economic Perspectives, Inc., a firm of economic and food consultants that was acquired by Sparks Companies, Inc., a larger firm in the same field where he served as Senior Vice President and head of the Washington office from 1988 until 2001. Penn is a member of the Farm Foundation Board of Trustees, the International Food and Agricultural Trade Policy Council, the United States Trade Representative’s Africa Trade Advisory Committee and a Fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association."

Related Sourcewatch Articles

 * USDA
 * John Deere
 * International Food & Agricultural Trade Policy Council