Indiana Ag Connection - Kettler to Chair NASDA Plant and Pesticide Committee

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Kettler to Chair NASDA Plant and Pesticide Committee
Indiana Ag Connection - 01/18/2019

National Association of State Departments of Agriculture President Jeff Witte appointed Indiana State Department of Agriculture Director Bruce Kettler to serve as chair of the association's Plant Agriculture and Pesticide Regulation Committee.

NASDA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit association that represents the departments of agriculture in all fifty states and four U.S. territories, and has six standing committees.

"We look forward to Bruce's leadership as he directs the committee that will provide important input on plant health, pesticides and regulatory issues that affect our entire nation," Witte, New Mexico Secretary of Agriculture, said. "We have an incredibly busy agenda for 2019 which will be full of opportunities to underscore the importance of our work in public service to advancing the success of our farmers and ranchers."

As chair, Kettler will oversee the committee's work, which is to review and establish the association's policy positions on national issues including, but not limited to: plant health, biotechnology, pollinator health, pesticides and invasive species. The committee will host monthly calls to discuss these issues and will convene at NASDA's annual policy meeting in Washington D.C., where their recommendations will be presented and voted on by the entire membership.

If adopted, those policies will be used by the association to advocate on behalf of the industry when meeting with lawmakers, government agencies, organizations and key stakeholders throughout the year.

"Every day, policies are being discussed at the federal level that, if passed, could impact crop production nationwide," Kettler said. "On these critical issues, it's important to ensure that agriculture's interests are, not only represented, but protected, and the best way to do that is through consensus building and sound policy formation. I look forward to working with my colleagues towards this goal."

Kettler was also appointed to serve as a member at-large for the NASDA Foundation. In that role, he will provide guidance on the Foundation's projects that support and enhance the work being done by the nation's departments of agriculture.

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