Two Appointed to Sheep Center Board
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently appointed two members to the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center Board of Directors. The two members will serve three-year terms of office beginning in January 2017.
Appointed to the board representing sheep producers is Marsha Ann Spykerman of Sibley, Iowa. Appointed to the board representing expertise in finance and management is Francisco Javier Iturriria of Bakersfield, Calif.
The sheep center was established as part of the 2008 Farm Bill and is designed to improve the competitiveness of the U.S. sheep and goat industries.
The board is composed of seven voting members and two non-voting members. Voting members of the board include four members who are active producers of sheep in the United States, two members that have expertise in finance and management, and one member that has expertise in lamb, wool, goat or goat product marketing. Non-voting members include the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs and the Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics.