Vilsack Names USDA Positions

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack additional positions to the agency -- Jonathan Coppess, administrator for the Farm Service Agency (FSA); Jerold Mande, deputy under secretary for Food Safety; and William J. Murphy, administrator of Risk Management Agency (RMA).

Coppess worked for U.S. Senator Ben Nelson (Neb.) as his legislative assistant for agriculture, energy and environmental policy. He grew up on his family's corn and soybean farm in west-central Ohio, where his father and brother continue the seven-generation farming operation.

Mande will have responsibility for the Food Safety and Inspection Service, which protects public health through food safety and defense by ensuring that the nation's supply of meat, poultry and processed egg products are safe and wholesome.

Most recently, as associate director for public policy at the Yale Cancer Center, Yale University School of Medicine, Mande developed a national model to increase support for cancer prevention and control, including diet, exercise and obesity.

Murphy most recently served as RMA acting administrator during the transition to the Obama administration. Before that, he served RMA as the deputy administrator for insurance services; director of the regional office in Davis, Calif., overseeing crop insurance operations in California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii; and director of the Western Region Compliance Office. He is a native of Pennsylvania.

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