On October 7, 2021, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan announced the appointment of Rod Snyder to become EPA’s Agriculture Advisor. Snyder will lead outreach and engagement efforts with the agricultural community for EPA.

Snyder is nationally recognized for his leadership at the intersection of agricultural and environmental policy, and joins EPA after serving as president of Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture, the largest multi-stakeholder initiative working to advance the sustainability of commodity crop farming in the United States. In that role, he forged science-based consensus among stakeholders across the food and agriculture value chain on issues such as climate change, water quality, biodiversity, and pest management.

Prior to his time at Field to Market, Snyder worked for the National Corn Growers Association and CropLife America. He previously organized farmer delegations to participate in UN Climate Summits in Paris and Copenhagen. In 2015, Snyder co-founded the Sustainable Agriculture Summit, which has grown to be the largest and most prominent annual sustainable agriculture conference in North America. Snyder holds a B.A. in Political Science from Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania.

Commentary

This position is important in the Office of the EPA Administrator. It allows stakeholders interested in issues that affect agriculture or agricultural policies a central contact point within the Administrator’s office. EPA in all program areas has a large number of interested stakeholders, but agricultural groups may be less likely to focus on EPA activities across all of the EPA media programs. This position facilitates outreach to agricultural stakeholders who might otherwise not realize they may have an interest in certain EPA policies (example, hazardous waste), in addition to those issues with a more obvious impact on agriculture (renewable fuel policies, pesticides, non-point pollution). Given the Biden Administration emphasis on addressing climate change, agricultural interests are expected to play a role in advocating “climate positive” agriculture policies, and could be affected by EPA’s climate initiatives.

The Agriculture Advisor position has potential to provide EPA leadership with input from stakeholders who otherwise may not typically focus on EPA activities. The impact of such input on EPA subsequent actions varies widely across different Administrations. Some Administrations leave the position vacant altogether. Outside groups will be interested in how influential this office will be for the current Administration.