On September 27th the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry advanced three USDA nominees for a full Senate vote.  The nominations were strongly supported by agricultural associations based on the experience, qualifications and strong personal qualities of the three candidates:

• Ms. Alexis Taylor was nominated as Undersecretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs.  Ms. Taylor was recently the Director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
• Dr. Jose Emilio Esteban as Undersecretary of Agriculture for Food Safety.  With multiple degrees, Dr. Esteban has served as Chief Scientist for the FSIS and is a 21-year veteran of the Agency.
• Doug McKalip as Chief Agricultural Trade Negotiator at the office of the USTR.  McKalip has served as an agricultural policy leader and trade expert for close to 30 years and has advised successive Secretaries of Agriculture.  His nomination was strongly supported by US Trade Representative, Ambassador Katherine Tai.