She once served on the board of directors of Calgene, a company in Davis that pioneered genetically altered tomatoes and, in 1987, was the first company to obtain a USDA permit to field test a genetically engineered crop.
KIM ARCHER and JEFF BATER / Dow Jones News Wires 20dec00
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She once served on the board of directors of Calgene, a company in Davis that pioneered genetically altered tomatoes and, in 1987, was the first company to obtain a USDA permit to field test a genetically engineered crop. |
WASHINGTON -- Ann Veneman, no stranger to U.S. agriculture, has been selected by U.S. President-elect George W. Bush as the next U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.
As such, Veneman, 51, would be the first woman in that position ever.
She already holds the distinction of having been the highest ranking woman at the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the administration of Bush's father.
From 1989 to 1991, Veneman served as deputy secretary for international affairs and commodities programs, the number two position under then Agriculture Secretary Edward Madigan.
Veneman served as director of the California Food and Agriculture Department from 1996 to 1998. Appointed by former Republican Gov. Pete Wilson, she was the first woman to head the agency.
U.S. farm groups are expected to be pleased with Veneman's nomination as they are already familiar with her work.
"No one knows California agriculture or the issues farmers and ranchers in the nation's top farm state face better than Ann," said California Farm Bureau Federation President Bill Pauli.
He said she served the state agricultural community with distinction and is an excellent choice for the top agriculture position in the nation.
"She has considerable interest and experience in international trade. Ann understands the importance of opening new markets and expanding agricultural trade around the globe," said Pauli. "She knows that one of the keys to prosperity in agriculture is increased trade."
Farming Roots Sowed Agricultural Interest
Veneman grew up in Modesto, California, on a peach farm in the San Joaquin Valley. This likely fueled her agricultural interests from an early age.
Nevertheless, Veneman's career first began in law. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science at the University of California, Davis, then went on to receive a master's degree in public policy from University of California, Berkeley.
Veneman earned a law degree from Hastings College of Law in San Francisco in 1976 and began her career as a public defender in Stanislaus County in California. She also was an attorney for the Bay Area Rapid Transit District in northern California.
Veneman joined the USDA in Washington in 1986, holding various positions over the years until she was named deputy secretary for international affairs and commodities in 1989.
After her term was over in 1993, Veneman joined the law offices of Patton, Boggs & Blow in Washington, D.C. as an attorney. She served as California's top agriculture official from 1995-99 and is now an attorney with Nossaman, Guthner, Knox and Elliott in Sacramento.
During her time at the USDA, Veneman was instrumental in administering a giant food aid package to the then-Soviet Union and is viewed as a strong proponent of foreign trade.
Veneman also is regarded as a protege of Richard Lyng, who was agriculture secretary during President Ronald Reagan's second term.
Senate Confirmation Expected To Be Smooth
Veneman is expected to easily be confirmed as the next U.S. Agriculture Secretary because of her known expertise in international agricultural trade.
She helped negotiate the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade while at the USDA, and was instrumental in organizing food aid to the then-Soviet Union. She also is known as a strong champion of biotechnology.
Back when U.S. President Bill Clinton was making his transition from the Arkansas governor's mansion to the White House, some farm groups held Veneman up as an example of the type of Agriculture Secretary the country needed.
Keith Heard, spokesman for the National Corn Growers Association, said back in 1992 that an agriculture secretary should be as capable as Veneman, who was then the deputy agriculture secretary.
"Whoever is selected should be an advocate for rural America, willing to take a hard line on trade agreements and be alert to promoting new uses for farm products," Heard said back then.
Carol Tucker Foreman, director of the Consumer Federation of America's Food Policy Institute, has praised the pick of Venemen as "a really good start" for the Bush administration. She said Venemen "will bring a modern view of the Department of Agriculture into that job."
-By Kim Archer and Jeff Bater, Dow Jones Newswires;
1-202-479-0853; Kim.Archer@dowjones.com
Greg Lucas / SF Chronicle 20dec00
President-elect Bush is expected to nominate Ann Veneman of Modesto to become the first woman to head the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Veneman, 51, ran California's Department of Food and Agriculture for five years and was a deputy undersecretary of the USDA in the administration of Bush's father.
"She may not have dirt under her fingernails, but she has agriculture in her blood," said Leon Panetta, President Clinton's former chief of staff, who has known Veneman for more than 30 years.
"She understands the issues," he said. "She doesn't come from an ideological point of view. She tries to be a problem solver."
Bush could announce Veneman's nomination today in Austin, Texas, said California agriculture leaders who have been in touch with the president- elect's transition team.
Veneman's expected appointment as secretary of agriculture is a testament to California's clout as the nation's largest agricultural state, with $27 billion in annual revenues.
It's also a political reward for the Central Valley, where Bush concentrated his California campaign and received much of his support.
Veneman will face several difficult issues in her new job.
Prices being paid for crops have cratered. Even California farmers, who are less dependent on subsidies than Midwestern growers, are calling for a financial safety net.
At the same time, the United States needs to expand agricultural exports and open more markets around the world.
Veneman is known for her expertise on trade, as well as emerging issues like genetically altered food and the interplay of agriculture and biotechnology.
She once served on the board of directors of Calgene, a company in Davis that pioneered genetically altered tomatoes and, in 1987, was the first company to obtain a USDA permit to field test a genetically engineered crop.
Veneman also knows her way around the sprawling USDA, which administers everything from meat inspections to the food stamp program.
Starting with the department's foreign agricultural service in 1986, she rose to deputy undersecretary for international affairs and commodity programs.
She also was one of the negotiators of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Veneman's tenure was capped by serving as deputy undersecretary from 1991 to 1993 -- at the time the highest post at the department ever held by a woman.
In 1993, she joined the influential lobbying and law firm of Patton, Boggs and Blow. Among her clients was the agribusiness giant, Dole Food Co.
Two years later, former Gov. Pete Wilson tapped Veneman to head California's Department of Food and Agriculture, after the previous director resigned over charges he did not report hundreds of thousands of dollars in farm income.
Veneman had a rocky start. Farmers and ranchers were skeptical and felt one of their own should run the $220 million-a-year department and its 2,000 employees.
"There were a number of people at the Farm Bureau who grumbled about her not being a farmer," said Bill Pauli, president of the California Farm Bureau Federation. "But we had a positive experience working with her. She knows where agriculture needs to go."
George Dunn, Wilson's former chief of staff, credits Veneman with remaking the department.
"She brought a new generation's perspective on everything from productivity to environmental policy to water and a much more sophisticated view of dealing with trade and the role government can play," Dunn said.
"She did a remarkable job under very difficult circumstances because she was not the agriculture community's first choice -- a woman and not a farmer," he said.
Veneman was an early supporter of Bush and a co-chair of his California campaign.
After getting a law degree from Hastings College of the Law, Veneman worked as a deputy public defender in Stanislaus County and then was an attorney for the Bay Area Rapid Transit District.
She was an intern for Wilson in the state Assembly while attending the University of California at Davis.
Wilson served in the Assembly with Veneman's father, John, a moderate Republican from Modesto who grew peaches.
"What always impressed me is, like her dad -- maybe it's something that flows in her blood -- she really has a social conscience," Panetta said. "And you can't really say that about everyone in politics."
E-mail Greg Lucas at glucas@sfchronicle.com
Appointed by Governor Wilson in 1995, Veneman is the first woman to be appointed to this position. She directs the state agency, regulating the largest agricultural economy in our nation with an annual budget of $194 million and 1,800 employees.
From 1991-93, Veneman served as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture (USDA). As the second-highest ranking person at USDA, she directed and oversaw the activities and policies of the USDA and its 42 agencies, with a budget of more than $60 billion and a workforce of 111,000. To date, Veneman is the highest-ranking woman to ever serve at the USDA.
From 1989-91, Veneman served as Deputy Undersecretary of Agriculture for International Affairs and Commodity Programs.
When not serving in government roles, Veneman has worked as a practicing attorney for Patton Boggs, LLP, in Washington, DC, and Damrell, Nelson, Schrimp, Pallios & Ladine in Modesto.
source: http://www.modchamber.org/progress/1998/sep98/sept_3.htm Modesto chamber of Commerce
Ann M. Veneman is currently a partner with the law firm of Nossaman, Guthner, Knox and Elliott, LLP, where she specializes in food, agriculture, environment, technology, and trade related issues.
From 1995 until the change of administration in 1999, she served as Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). Veneman was the first woman to be appointed in this position, directing the state agency that oversees the largest agricultural economy in the nation. CDFA's annual budget is $200 million and employs more than 1,800 people who work to ensure a safe, abundant and healthy food supply for the citizens of California.
With a background in international trade, Veneman made it a priority to expand global opportunities for California agriculture. She focused efforts on making CDFA more efficient, competitive and common-sense oriented. She overhauled the Department's strategic planning process to include a complete review of business practices, organizational structure and technology integration.
Under her leadership, California was recognized for pioneering partnerships in the development of food safety quality assurance plans. Veneman also worked to increase consumer awareness about the importance of agriculture in California through comprehensive outreach efforts.
From 1991 to 1993, Veneman served as Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). As the second-ranking person at USDA, she directed and oversaw the activities and policies of the USDA and its 42 agencies, with a budget of more than $60 billion and a workforce of 111,000 employees. To date, Veneman is the highest-ranking woman to ever serve at USDA.
From 1989 to 1991, Veneman served as Deputy Undersecretary of Agriculture for International Affairs and Commodity Programs. In this assignment, she managed international issues including trade policy, trade negotiations, and food aid. Veneman joined the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service in 1986 and served as Associate Administrator until 1989. She was actively involved in the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations, NAFTA and the U.S.-Canada Free Trade Agreement.
Veneman serves on the Board of Directors of the Farm Foundation, the Close-up Foundation, ACDI/VOCA and the Great Valley Center. She is a member of the International Policy Council on Agriculture, Food and Trade, the Bennett Agriculture Round Table, and Food Foresight. She also serves on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo President's Advisory Cabinet, the U.C. Merced Foundation Board of Trustees, the U.C. Davis School of Medicine Board of Visitors, the U.C. Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Dean's Advisory Council, the Advisory Council for the U.C. Berkeley College of Natural Resources, and the Joint Policy Council on Agriculture and Higher Education. Prior to joining CDFA she served on the board of directors of Calgene, Inc., a California biotechnology company.
When not serving in government, Veneman previously worked as a practicing attorney with Patton Boggs, L.L.P. In Washington D.C., and Damrell, Nelson, Schrimp, Pallios & Ladine in Modesto, California. She is a member of the Bar in California and in the District of Columbia, and is admitted before the U.S. Supreme Court. She is also a member of the Anthony M. Kennedy Inn of Court.
Veneman was raised on a peach farm in Modesto, California. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California at Davis, a master's degree in public policy from the University of California at Berkeley, and a juris doctorate degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law.
source: Nossaman, Guthner, Knox, and Elliott LLP website http://www.ngke.com/veneman.htm 20 Dec 2000
JEANETTE MARIE PONTACQ /
The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is refusing to come out in support of California's organic farmers and consumers by not rejecting the recently announced lowered organic standards proposed by the USDA, and by not supporting the California Organic Foods Act of 1990.
Instead, Ann Veneman, secretary of the CDFA, wants to remain neutral. Ms. Veneman is an appointee of Pete Wilson and will soon be leaving this post with the hope of obtaining another position with the USDA in Washington.
Neutrality tacitly condones the USDA's drastically lowered standards for organic foods. The CDFA needs to support California farmers and take a stand for consumer choice in safe foods.
Please help by contacting Ms. Veneman and asking that she support the 1990 California Organic Foods Act:
Ann Veneman
Secretary California Dept. of Food and Agriculture
1220 N. Street, Suite 404
Sacramento, CA 94814 Phone
(916) 654 0433
Fax (916) 654 0403
email: aveneman@cdfa.ca.gov
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