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FARM CREDIT ADMINISTRATION, McLean, Va. — Dennis Shields has been appointed associate director of the Agricultural & Economic Policy Team and as chief economist. Shields was most recently senior economist in the Office of Regulatory Policy.

VAULT TECHNOLOGIES, Chicago, Ill. — Grant Cupps has joined the company as chief technology officer. Cupps will help develop and enhance technology platforms and will lead the development roadmap to serve dairy producers. He was previously with Vela.

THE ANDERSONS INC., Maumee, Ohio — Brian A. Valentine has been appointed senior vice president and chief financial officer, effective Aug. 1, 2018. Valentine was previously with The Lubrizol Corp.

ANUVIA PLANT NUTRIENTS, Zellwood, Fla. — Bryan Corkal has joined the company as chief financial officer. Corkal will oversee and manage company finances, including strategic and capital planning, risk management and data analysis. He will ensure accurate reporting of financial information, identify areas of opportunity and support due diligence for fundraising. He was previously with Calyxt Inc.

ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC & LAND-GRANT UNIVERSITIES, Washington, D.C. — Doug Steele has been named vice president for food, agriculture and natural resources. Steele will provide leadership to establish priorities and initiatives. He was previously with the Norman E. Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture at Texas A&M University.

BARRY-WEHMILLER PACKAGING SYSTEMS, St. Louis, Mo. — Tony Colquitt has been named director of business development, Latin America. Colquitt will work with all leadership and sales teams to further develop relationships with customers and meet their packaging line needs. He was most recently Latin American sales director for Thiele Technologies.

BIOZYME, St. Joseph, Mo. — Ty McGuire has joined the company as area sales manager. McGuire will work to develop new and build upon current dealer and customer relations in Kentucky, western Ohio and Michigan while promoting company brands. He was previously with Elm Tree Farm.

CAL-MAINE FOODS INC., Jackson, Miss. — Josh Moore has been named vice president of operations, effective June 3. Moore will have responsibility for all of Cal-Maine Foods' production and processing facilities located in Ohio and Kentucky. Moore will be located in Rossburg, Ohio, and will report directly to Sherman Miller, president of Cal-Maine Foods. Moore has been employed with Cal-Maine Foods since 2000.

DIAMOND V, Cedar Rapids, Iowa — Dr. Márcio Caparroz has joined the company as manager, market access, Brazil. Caparroz will focus on market access and key accounts and will help advance poultry health, poultry production and food safety in Brazil's poultry market. He was previously with Agri BR.

Darren Coonrad has joined the company as regional sales manager in the Pacific Northwest. Coonrad will serve dairy producers, veterinarians, nutritionists and feed manufacturers in the Pacific Northwest team, with a primary emphasis on Oregon and Washington. He was previously with PerforMix Nutrition Systems.

Dr. Bucky Gwartney has joined the company as director, protein food safety research. In his new role, he will be responsible for global meat quality and food safety research across all food animal species and protein groups. Prior to joining Diamond V, he worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service.

Dr. Frank Looff has joined the Europe Business Unit as technical sales support manager. Looff will serve dairy producers, veterinarians, nutritionists and feed manufacturers and will help develop the ruminant market in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Hungary. He was previously with Pioneer.

Dr. Derek Petry has joined the company as director, swine research and technical support. Petry will be responsible for the global swine research program and for the design and execution of a range of research and development projects globally, including health, immunity and food safety initiatives. He was previously with Genesus Inc.

Dr. Doug Smith has rejoined the company as director, Europe poultry food safety, in the Netherlands. Smith will be responsible for development and implementation of food safety programs for poultry and egg producers, food companies and retailers in Europe. His main focus will be working to reduce the risk of campylobacter, salmonella and Escherichia coli within production and processing systems, primarily through pre-harvest interventions. He was previously with Clemson University.

Paul Cortes Valencia has joined the company as dairy field support. Cortes Valencia will serve the Midwest dairy industry and provide on-site technical support for producers, veterinarians, nutritionists and feed professionals.

FAMILY FARMS LLC, Brighton, Ill. — Shari Rogge-Fidler has been appointed chief executive officer.

FARMFIRST DAIRY COOPERATIVE, Madison, Wis. — Betty Lund has joined the cooperative's Member Services Team. Lund will serve dairy farmers in northwest Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota and western Iowa. She was previously with DFA and Grassland Dairy Products.

FINE AMERICAS INC., Walnut Creek, Cal. — Damian Eldred has joined the company as director of sales and marketing for North America. Eldred will be responsible for overall sales and marketing efforts throughout the U.S. and Canada, with a focus on increasing the company's presence and growth in existing markets, expanding reach into new markets and managing development and introduction of new products. He was previously with Wilbur Ellis Co.

INDIGO AG INC., Boston, Mass. — Karsten Neuffer has joined the company as chief operating officer, international. Neuffer will lead the international business operations, which are centered in Argentina, Brazil and Australia. He was previously with Syngenta.

INSTITUTE FOR FEED EDUCATION & RESEARCH, Arlington, Va. — Robert Cooper has joined the institute as executive director. Cooper will provide leadership in crafting and implementing the overall strategic direction for the institute. He will develop and manage fundraising and donor stewardship programs and maintain donor relationships. He will also work closely with the board of trustees and other committees to carry out key research and education projects and with the American Feed Industry Assn.'s communications team to share the institute's mission and message in communications to donors and the public. He was previously with the University of Georgia.

IOWA PORK PRODUCERS ASSN., Clive, Iowa — Dal Grooms has joined the association as communications director. Grooms will lead communications efforts. She was previously with the Sandbox Agency.

KENT NUTRITION GROUP, Muscatine, Iowa — Jeffrey Miller has been promoted to regional sales manager, mid-Atlantic. Miller was most recently territory sales manager-Pennsylvania.

LAND O'LAKES INC., Arden Hills, Minn. — Chris Policinski will retire as president and chief executive officer, effective June 30, 2018. Policinski has served in this role since 2005.

MH EQUIPMENT, Peoria, Ill. — John Judd has joined the company as regional sales manager. Judd will be responsible for sales team leadership and driving revenue at the Evansville, Ind., location.

NATIONAL SORGHUM PRODUCERS, Lubbock, Texas — Jamaca Battin has joined NSP staff full time as the industry relations director. Battin will play an integral role in developing new relationships that will allow for greater sorghum representation in D.C. and will lead the efforts of the Industry Partner program. Battin joined NSP part-time as Sorghum PAC coordinator in November. Prior to her position at NSP, she owned her own business, while also working for the USDA Farm Service Agency in Kansas as the administrative program technician for 10 years. Battin starts her position June 4.

Amanda Flores has joined the association as administrative manager.

ORGANIC TRADE ASSN., Washington, D.C. — Johanna Mirenda will join the Regulatory Team as farm policy director, effective Aug. 6. Mirenda will help develop policy strategy through producer engagement, serving as primary staff to its Farmers Advisory Council and building relationships with the organic farming community. She will also serve as lead technical expert on issues related to crop and livestock materials and standards and in-house technical lead in international standards evaluation and analysis. She was previously with the Organic Materials Review Institute.

PHARMGATE ANIMAL HEALTH, Wilmington, N.C. — Randy Buller has joined the company as vice president of global sales, marketing and technical service. Buller will oversee the sales, marketing and technical service departments. He was previously with Paragon Animal Health LLC.

Dr. Fabian Chamba has joined the technical services team as research scientist/clinical development. Chamba was previously with the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Charles Francisco has been appointed director of veterinary technical services. Francisco will be responsible for leading the technical service team, specializing in pharmaceuticals and biologicals, including porcine circovirus and Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. He was previously with JBS United Animal Health.

RABOBANK, New York, N.Y. — Bill Cordingley has been appointed as head of the Chicago, Ill., office. Cordingley will lead client-focused work in multiple sectors throughout the U.S. to drive growth in several food and agriculture sectors, including dairy, farm inputs, grains and oilseeds, consumer foods and food packaging and logistics. He was most recently global sector head for animal protein.

STRAUSS FEEDS LLC, Watertown, Wis. — Dale Bakke has joined the company as director of technical service. Bakke will be responsible for product development, customer service and technical support.

TECHMIX GLOBAL, Minneapolis, Minn. — Tami Lepley has been appointed bovine territory manager primarily focused in Michigan and Indiana. Lepley previously worked for Dairy Farmers of America as well as holding management and sales positions with Parnell Living Sciences, Merial, Eli Lilly and Pioneer.

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA-LINCOLN, Lincoln, Neb. — Jill O'Donnell has been named director of the university's Clayton Yeutter Institute of International Trade & Finance, effective July 1. O'Donnell will work with College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources, College of Business and College of Law faculty to create Yeutter Institute programs and curricula that address challenges in international trade and finance. She was previously a consultant to the NATO Communications & Information Agency.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Washington, D.C. — Dr. Jennifer Tucker has been appointed deputy administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service's National Organic Program. Tucker was most recently associate deputy administrator of the National Organic Program.

U.S. GRAINS COUNCIL, Washington, D.C. — Allison Nepveux joined the council as manager of trade policy. Nepveux will support trade policy work by implementing initiatives to advance trade policy and market access goals and reduce barriers that affect the export of coarse grains and co-products. She was previously with the United Fresh Produce Assn.

U.S. WHEAT ASSOCIATES, Portland, Ore. — Michael T. Anderson will join the association as assistant director of the West Coast office in Portland, effective July 9, 2018. Anderson will be responsible for assisting overseas trade delegations visiting the wheat supply chain in the Pacific Northwest, outreach to state wheat commissions and the grain trade and a range of assignments supporting export market development activities on behalf of U.S. wheat farmers. He was previously with the Food Export Association of the Northeast.

ZINPRO CORP., Eden Prairie, Minn. — Dr. Wesley Schweer has joined the company as swine research nutritionist-North America. Schweer will be responsible for swine nutrition research activities and technical support services for swine customers in the U.S. and Canada.