Letter
Dear Chairwoman Stabenow and Ranking Member Boozman:
We write to express our support for the nomination of Oregon Department of Agriculture Director Alexis Taylor to serve as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. U.S. agricultural producers and global food security will be well served through Director Taylor’s administration of the department’s trade promotion and capacity building programs—she is uniquely qualified for this role.
Director Taylor’s understanding of agriculture and trade issues can be traced back to her childhood. She was raised on the Northeast Iowa farm that has been in her family for more than 160 years and began her long career in public service in high school when she enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves. Director Taylor served one tour in Iraq with the 389th Combat Engineer Battalion and served in the Reserves from 1998 to 2006. After receiving her bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University, she worked for various members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate.
In 2014, due to her tireless work in Congress, Director Taylor was appointed by the Obama Administration as the USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, where she helped ensure agricultural stakeholder’s voices were at the table as the U.S. worked to open markets around the globe. Then, in 2016, she was appointed to her current role by Oregon Gov. Katie Brown. From this post, Director Taylor oversees the state’s efforts on food safety and consumer protection, natural resource protection and the promotion of Oregon products in the United States and around the world.
Director Taylor is a widely recognized leader on agriculture policy and has the domestic and international experience to shepherd U.S. agriculture through growing global changes of protecting food security, tackling inflation, and expanding markets for U.S. agricultural products. She is a dedicated, hardworking, results driven public servant—qualities that are recognized by the large range of stakeholders supporting her nomination.
We strongly urge the Committee to quickly advance Director Taylor’s nomination so she can begin the important work at USDA to address the issues facing our farmers and ranchers and the growing food security challenges around the world.
Sincerely,
National Association of Wheat Growers
Agricultural Retailers Association
Agribusiness Association of Iowa
Agribusiness Council of Indiana
American Bakers Association
American Beekeeping Federation
American Cotton Shippers Association
American Farm Bureau Federation
American Feed Industry Association
American Frozen Food Institute
American Peanut Council
American Seed Trade Association
American Soybean Association
American Sugar Alliance
Animal Health Institute
Biotechnology Innovation Organization
California Fig Advisory Board
California Prune Board
California Strawberry Commission
California Walnut Commission
CropLife America
Corn Refiners Association
Distilled Spirits Council of the United States
Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative
Farm Credit Council
Farmers for Free Trade
Florida Feed Association, Inc.
Food Northwest
Global Cold Chain Alliance
Growth Energy
International Dairy Food Association
International Fresh Food Association
International Fresh Produce Association
Iowa Biotechnology Association
Iowa Corn Growers Association
Iowa Pork Producers Association
Iowa Renewable Fuels Association
Iowa Soybean Association
Leather and Hide Council of America
Meat Import Council of America
Midwest Dairy Coalition
National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
National Confectioners Association
National Corn Growers Association
National Cotton Council
National Council of Farmer Cooperatives
National Farmers Union
National Grain and Feed Association
National Milk Producers Federation
National Oilseed Processors Association
National Pecan Federation
National Pork Producers Council
National Potato Council
National Sorghum Producers
National Turkey Federation
North American Blueberry Council
North America Meat Institute
North American Millers Association
North America Renderers Association
North Dakota Corn Growers Association
North Dakota Grain Growers Association
Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance
Northwest Horticultural Council
Ohio Agribusiness Association
Oregon Bioscience Association
Oregon Cattlemen’s Association
Oregon Dairy Farmers Association
Oregon Farm Bureau
Oregon Feed and Grain Association
Oregon Organic Coalition
Oregon Seed Association
Oregon Seed Council
Oregon Wheat Growers League
Oregon Wine Council
Oregon Winegrowers Association
Pet Food Institute
Southwest Council of Agribusiness
Sweeteners Users Association
Texas Agricultural Cooperative Council
Texas Grain and Feed Association
The Fertilizer Institute
U.S. Apple Association
U.S. Dairy Export Council
U.S. Dry Bean Council
U.S. Dry Pea & Lentil Council
U.S. Durum Growers Association
U.S. Meat Export Federation
U.S. Peanut Federation
U.S. Rice Producers Association
U.S. Wheat Associates
USA Rice
Western Growers Association
Western Peanut Growers Association
Willamette Valley Specialty Seed Association
Wisconsin Agri-Business Association
