Head of Foreign Agricultural Service reassigned

[The Straight Story]

Head of Foreign Agricultural Service reassigned
By Jerry Hagstrom December 23, 2009

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Tuesday reassigned Michael Michener, administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service, to serve as his special representative at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations Agencies in Rome.

Michener announced his change of jobs in an e-mail to the FAS staff. He said his last day in the office would be Dec. 31 and that John Brewer, his deputy and FAS general sales manager -- who is in charge of marketing U.S. agricultural products overseas -- will become acting administrator on Jan. 1.

Michener, an Iowan who previously worked for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, was a foreign affairs adviser for Vilsack's short-lived 2008 presidential campaign. After Vilsack was named Agriculture secretary, he selected Michener to head FAS. The position does not require Senate confirmation.


In his e-mail, Michener listed a series of accomplishments during his tenure at FAS. "In my time as FAS Administrator," he wrote, "we implemented a turnaround process that stabilized our agency's budget, allowed a resumption of hiring and travel, and executed a strategic planning process to 're-envision' how FAS does business. We have also led the USDA engagement with the departments of Defense, State, and USAID to support the expanded deployment of USDA agricultural experts to Afghanistan, a key component of the president's strategy to defeat al Qaeda. This is work I am very proud of and I thank the wonderful and dedicated staff at FAS who supported me along the way."

But a USDA insider said Michener was reassigned after an FAS personnel survey showed low morale at the agency. Both current and retired FAS officers have criticized Michener for the amount of attention he has devoted to agricultural development projects in Afghanistan, saying the agency's traditional missions of analyzing foreign agricultural production and promoting the sale of U.S. agricultural products were being neglected.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1209/122309jh1.htm?oref=todaysnews

[dipsydoodle]

1. For sale of "U.S. agricultural products"

maybe read Monsanto et al. :sarcasm: