Oregon Department of Agriculture Director Alexis Taylor Appointed by White House to Serve at USDA – Oregon Capital Chronicle

Alexis Taylor, director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture, was nominated by the White House Biden to serve in the United States Department of Agriculture.

An announcement by the White House of nine candidates said Taylor had been nominated for the position of undersecretary of commerce and foreign agricultural affairs in the department.

Since 2016, Taylor has led the Oregon Department of Agriculture, a job that includes promoting the state’s vast line of food and nursery products and regulating the $50 billion industry. The state produces more than 220 agricultural products, including livestock, grass seeds, cherries, nuts, and wine, and has 37,000 farms on 16 million acres.

The department declined to provide his age or comment on the nomination. He said she was making about $15.00 a month.

Prior to that, she oversaw the USDA’s Agricultural and Foreign Agricultural Services, according to the announcement. He said she traveled all over the world, opening markets for American products. Taylor has also worked for congressmen from Montana and Iowa. She was born and raised in Iowa and moved to Oregon after working 12 years in Washington DC, according to the announcement.

She graduated from Iowa State University and grew up on her family farm in Iowa, which has been in her family for more than 160 years, the White House said. She is well known to agricultural leaders in Iowa. Following the announcement, Iowa Corn Growers Association President Lance Lillibridge released a statement congratulating her on her appointment.

“We are thrilled to see an Iowa native named who understands the importance of trade policy and promoting agriculture, corn and biofuels in a global marketplace. We look forward to the opportunity to work with Alexis in his new role,” the producers’ association said.

The Oregon Farm Bureau also congratulated Taylor, saying they were thrilled she had won such a critical position at the USDA. “His decades of business experience, strong leadership and steady hand will be an asset to the Biden administration as it attempts to improve national food security and prevent food shortages,” said Dave Dillon, vice-president. executive chairman in a statement. “We know she will bring her knowledge and love of Oregon agriculture with her to this new role, and we look forward to seeing what she can accomplish.”

In high school, Taylor enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserves and toured Iraq during her freshman year in college with the 389th Combat Engineer Battalion, according to the White House. She is no longer a reservist but remains an advocate for veterans, the statement said.

It will have to be confirmed by the Senate.

The announcement follows another White House nomination in January. The Biden administration has named Margaret Salazar, executive director of the Oregon Department of Housing and Community Services, as the federal department’s regional administrator for Oregon, Alaska, Idaho and Washington.