Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins congratulated Dr. Seth Meyer for his years of service as the USDA’s Chief Economist, and announced Dr. Justin Benavidez (ben-ah-VEE-dez) as the new chief economist. Benavidez previously served as the Chief Economist for the Majority Staff of the House Committee on Agriculture. He provided economic analysis on farm bill policy, commodity markets, and agricultural legislation. As the new USDA Chief Economist, Benavidez will lead the Department’s economic analysis and forecasting efforts, ensuring USDA’s policies and programs continue to be informed by sound, data-driven economic research that supports America’s farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. Before his work on Capitol Hill, he worked as an agricultural economist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, focusing on farm and ranch management, production economics, and policy analysis. He holds bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in agricultural economics from Texas A&M University.
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