Grains, Feed, Oilseeds and Planting Seeds Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee

The Grains, Feed, Oilseeds and Planting Seeds Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee "provides advice and information to the [United States] secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. trade representative on negotiating objectives, positions and other matters related to the development, implementation and administration of U.S. agricultural trade policy." The administration also maintains an Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee and five Agricultural Technical Advisory Committees (ATACs) that advise on various areas of agriculture: Animals and Animal Products, Fruits and Vegetables, Processed Foods, Sweeteners and Sweetener Products, and Tobacco, Cotton and Peanuts. "Congress established the advisory committee system in 1974 to ensure a private-sector voice in establishing agricultural trade policy objectives to reflect U.S. commercial and economic interests. The Agriculture Department and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative jointly manage the committees."

Industry Influence and Lobbying
According to the Hagstrom Report:


 * "The [2011 appointees] list appears to include a broader range of geography and interests than have been on the committees in the past, but also contains the names of many well-known Washington agriculture leaders.


 * "None of them are registered lobbyists, according to two sources who were appointed to the committee and a USTR source. The Obama administration has had strict rules forbidding the appointment of lobbyists to most administration posts, and applied those rules to these committees. One appointee told The Hagstrom Report that he had to deregister as a lobbyist. (emphasis added)


 * "“Now I have to watch out that my interaction with Congress doesn’t exceed 20 percent of my work time,” he added.


 * "Other sources said many of the Washington appointees had risen so high in their organizations that they no longer lobby personally." (emphasis added)

2011 Appointees
2011 appointees include:
 * Mark Anderson, Anderson Hay & Grain Company, Inc.
 * Stanley Baker, Infinity Lawn and Garden
 * Rebecca Bratter-Coleman, U.S. Grains Council
 * Robert Cummings, USA Rice Federation
 * Dennis DeLaughter, Progressive Farm Management
 * Neal Fisher, North Dakota Wheat Commission
 * Scott Fritz, Fritz Black Sand Farms, Inc.
 * Michael Gumina, Pioneer Hi-Bred International
 * Lurlin Hoelscher, Hoelscher Ag Distributer, Inc.
 * William Hoffman, Farmer
 * Joe Kapraun, GROWMARK, Inc.
 * Kevin Kaufman, BNSF Railway
 * Kendall Keith, National Grain & Feed Association
 * Daniel Kidd, Kidd Brothers Farms
 * Donald Latham, DTB Farms, LLC
 * Daniel Murphy, American Soybean Association
 * Joel Newman, American Feed Industry Association
 * Michael Nichols, Nichols Family Farms LLC, Nichols Farms Corp., Inc. LLC
 * John Reynolds, Novus International, Inc.
 * Candace Roper, CoBank Agricultural Credit Bank
 * Claude Rosson III, Texas A&M University
 * Michael Rue, Catlett Warehouse
 * Shannon Schlecht, U.S. Wheat Associates
 * Doug Sombke, Sombke Farms
 * Larry Stenberg, Dow Agro-Sciences
 * Teodoro Verver, Texas Department of Agriculture
 * Mary Waters, North American Millers' Association
 * Steven Wellman, Wellman Farms, Inc.
 * David Winkles Jr., South Carolina Farm Bureau

SourceWatch Resources

 * Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee
 * Animals and Animal Products Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee
 * Fruits and Vegetables Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee
 * Processed Foods Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee
 * Sweeteners and Sweetener Products Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee
 * Tobacco, Cotton and Peanuts Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee