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Indiana’s McKinney selected for new USDA trade position
By ANN HINCH
Associate Editor
 
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The latest Hoosier to be nominated for a seat in the Trump administration is Indiana State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) Director Ted McKinney, who also pulls double duty as director of agribusiness development for the Indiana Economic Development Corp. (IEDC).
 
On July 19, the White House reported President Trump’s pick of McKinney as the USDA’s under secretary of trade and foreign agricultural affairs. This is a newly created job USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue announced two months ago in reorganizing the agency, according to 2014 Farm Bill directives to highlight the importance of trade to U.S. agriculture.

“Our plan to establish an under secretary for trade fits right in line with my goal to be American agriculture’s unapologetic advocate and chief salesman around the world,” Perdue said in May. “By working side by side with our U.S. Trade Representative and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, the USDA under secretary for trade will ensure that American producers are well equipped to sell their products and feed the world.”

He said the reorganization puts agencies in more logical order. Formerly, the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), which deals with overseas markets, and the Farm Service Agency, which handles domestic issues, were housed under one mission area, along with the Risk Management Agency. The change puts FAS under the new under secretary for trade, where Perdue said “staff can sharpen their focus on foreign markets.”

Appointed to head the ISDA by then- Gov. Mike Pence in January 2014, and to his position in the IEDC in mid-2015, McKinney will be subject to a U.S. Senate hearing, confirmation process and vote to get the job. McKinney declined to say much about the nomination last week beyond a short statement. “I am honored to be nominated by the President, and I so appreciate the support and encouragement from Secretary Perdue, and the many friends who have reached out with support. I look forward to serving, if confirmed,” he said, adding while he appreciates the support various parties have expressed, “until some senator’s gavel falls,” there is no appointment.

And there is a strong outpouring of support. Statements rolled in from national organizations praising McKinney, 59, and his experience working in plant and animal sciences in the private sector as well as his public service. A native Hoosier, former FFA state officer and 10-year 4-Her, he grew up on a grain and livestock farm in Tipton – in which he still has ownership – and graduated from Purdue University in 1981 with a bachelor of science degree in agricultural economics. Prior to heading ISDA, he was director of Global Corporate Affairs for Elanco Animal Health, a subsidiary of Eli Lilly and Co. He began in the agricultural chemicals business of Elanco Products Co. in 1981, later moving to Lilly and then to Dow AgroSciences in 1990, working in corporate affairs until 2009, when he returned to Elanco.

He took a leave from Dow in 2000 to serve as co-founder and interim executive director for the Council for Biotechnology Information, a public information program sponsored by a consortium of companies involved with the development of crop biotechnology.

He has served with the International Food Information Council, U.S. Meat Export Federation and International Federation of Animal Health, among others.

Among those throwing support behind McKinney is longtime friend and Indiana Soy/Corn CEO Jane Ade Stevens. “As an ex officio member of our corn and soybean boards, Ted is a great partner in working on the issues most important to growing food, fiber and fuel,” she said in a statement. “We are particularly pleased that Ted will be overseeing trade and foreign agriculture issues at the USDA.

Indiana corn and soybean farmers know that exports are a vital market for Indiana and the United States.”

Trade issues are a priority for farmers, Stevens told Farm World. “Ag exports must be maintained and grown for the health of our U.S. economy … Ted’s ability to take complicated issues (and) find solutions will serve America’s farmers well as he works with our trading partners.”

Others endorsing McKinney are The Fertilizer Institute, American Soybean Assoc., National Corn Growers Assoc., Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and colleagues from other states, such as Kentucky Ag Commissioner Ryan Quarles. 
 
“(Trump) has done Kentucky’s farm families a tremendous service by naming Ted McKinney as under secretary for trade and foreign agricultural affairs,” Quarles stated.

“Created in 2014, the position of under secretary for trade was left vacant during the last administration. Filling these positions with top-notch agricultural leaders proves the Trump administration and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue are listening to the needs of the agricultural community.”

“McKinney’s leadership experience as Indiana’s agriculture director and longstanding background in trade make him an ideal candidate for this position.

The U.S. wheat industry applauds the administration’s choice and calls for a quick confirmation hearing in the Senate,” said National Assoc. of Wheat Growers President David Schemm.

President/CEO Jay Vroom of CropLife America, which represents plant science and pest management companies, credited McKinney’s experience in issues of management of crop and animal agriculture as a plus.

“He has the background to deal with the complexities of agriculture-focused trade and foreign affairs on behalf of the USDA.”

If confirmed, McKinney will have his work cut out for him immediately, presumably working with the U.S. Trade Representative, Ross and others on agriculture’s role in the renegotiation of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, which is set to begin in mid-August. 
7/26/2017