MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — The U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) board of directors seated officers for 2023/24 at their annual meeting the week of July 12, 2023, in Minneapolis, Minn. USW is the export market development organization for the U.S. wheat industry.

Michael Peters, Okarche, Okla., accepted the USW Chairman’s gavel from 2022/23 Chair Rhonda Larson, East Grand Forks, Minn. Clark Hamilton, Ririe, Idaho, now serves as Vice Chair, and Jim Pellman, McClusky, N.D., starts his term as Secretary-Treasurer. This slate of officers was elected in February 2023.

U.S. Wheat Associates Officers for 2023/24 (Left to Right): Clark Hamilton, Ririe, Idaho, Vice Chairman; Jim Pellman, McClusky, N.D., Secretary-Treasurer; Rhonda Larson, East Grand Forks, Minn., Past Chairperson; and Michael Peters, Okarche, Okla., Chairman. For more information, visit www.uswheat.org.

U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), Arlington, Va., has hired Ralph Loos as Director of Communications. He comes to the organization with nearly 14 years of experience in agriculture communications, serving both the grain and livestock industries. He replaces Amanda Spoo who left USW for another position in July.

“Ralph’s experience working with USDA Foreign Agricultural Service cooperator organizations and his enthusiasm for the marketing communications profession is a great fit for U.S. Wheat Associates,” said USW Vice President of Communications Steve Mercer. “I think the wheat farmers we represent in overseas markets, our state wheat commission members and his colleagues are going to be very pleased with his work.”

Ralph Loos, USW Director of Communications

Raised on his family’s farm in southern Illinois, Loos paid his way through college as a newspaper reporter and editor. He earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications from Southern Illinois University in 2008.

Loos began his ag career as Communications Specialist for the U.S. Soybean Export Council. He then worked as Editor and Communications Manager for the American Sheep Industry Association, where he produced a monthly magazine for sheep producers and helped launch the association’s social media platforms.

In 2015, Loos joined the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) as its Communications Director. Along with creating written content, Ralph worked closely with USMEF staff around the world to produce video segments for the organization’s internal and external audiences.

In August 2021, Loos took a year-long leave from ag communications to work as Communications Manager for a Denver-based healthcare startup that specializes in staffing public health departments and setting up emergency COVID testing and vaccination clinics.

“While I valued the healthcare communications experience, I am happy to return to my roots and look forward to doing what I can to help support the U.S. wheat industry,” Loos said.

A high resolution photo is available for download here.

The U.S. Wheat Associates mission is to “develop, maintain, and expand international markets to enhance wheat’s profitability for U.S. wheat producers and its value for their customers.” USW activities in more than 100 countries are made possible through producer checkoff dollars managed by 17 state wheat commissions and cost-share funding provided by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. For more information, visit www.uswheat.org.

ARLINGTON, Virginia – U.S. Wheat Associates (USW) has promoted Catherine Miller to Director of Programs. Miller joined USW in 2018 as Program and Planning Coordinator and shifted to Programs Coordinator in 2021 to reflect structural changes.

“Catherine has done a great job in managing many of USW’s domestic programs, and she excelled in helping USW transition to virtual programming after the COVID-19 pandemic began,” said Erica Oakley, USW Vice President of Programs. “This promotion recognizes her hard work and dedication to USW and U.S. wheat farmers.”

Catherine Miller, USW Director of Programs.

In this role, Miller will lead program support for coordinating trade teams, short courses and board teams with USW’s overseas offices and state wheat commissions. Miller also works closely with USW’s overseas staff to identify consultant needs and coordinate annual crop quality seminars. Miller will continue supporting USW’s shift toward virtual programs since the COVID-19 pandemic, including an active role in conducting monthly webinars and crop updates.

Catherine Miller joined USW after graduating cum laude from Auburn University in May 2017, earning a bachelor’s degree in agriculture business and economics. A native of Virginia, she gained valuable experience as a Pathways intern for the USDA at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), where she developed reports for USDA-supported activities in Food Safety and Climate Change and worked with the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program. Miller was also an active member of the Agriculture Economics Club at Auburn University

U.S. Wheat Associates’ (USW) mission is to “develop, maintain, and expand international markets to enhance wheat’s profitability for U.S. wheat producers and its value for their customers.” USW activities in more than 100 countries are made possible through producer checkoff dollars managed by 17 state wheat commissions and cost-share funding provided by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. USW maintains 15 offices strategically located around the world to help wheat buyers, millers, bakers, wheat food processors and government officials understand the quality, value and reliability of all six U.S. wheat classes. For more information, visit www.uswheat.org.