Source: USDA
U.S. secretary of agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that USDA’s chief economist, Robert Johansson, will be leaving USDA to become associate director of economics and policy analysis for the American Sugar Alliance at the end of January. Additionally, the secretary announced Seth Meyer will return to USDA to be the new chief economist.
“There is no doubt that I as well as the whole USDA family will miss Rob’s experience, preparedness and direct economic analyses,” says Perdue. “During his tenure as chief economist, Rob has been an upstanding public servant. Rob helped set up and serve as acting deputy undersecretary for the Farm Production and Conservation mission area, early in this administration. Rob’s leadership and economic support over the past two years with trade disruptions and COVID-19 relief has helped us make evidenced-based decisions when designing programs to assist American farmers and ranchers during their time of need. We are excited to bring back Dr. Seth Meyer and know that he will do a tremendous job serving the people of American agriculture.”
“It has been a real honor to have spent more than two decades in public service, working for the Peace Corps, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Office of Management and Budget, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Council of Economic Advisers. My 16-plus years with USDA has been most rewarding, and I’ll miss the daily interaction with the fantastic team at OCE as well as the larger USDA family. I look forward to continue supporting America’s farmers in my new role with the American Sugar Alliance,” says Johansson.
“This is a challenging time for the food and agricultural sector. I’m quite honored to be asked to rejoin USDA as chief economist. I look forward to serving the American public and USDA’s many stakeholders and constituencies,” says Meyer.
Robert Johansson Seth Meyer