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Booth Planned for NAFB Trade Talk Event

Release Date: 11/05/2008
Contact Information: Kris Lancaster, (913) 551-7557, lancaster.kris@epa.gov

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Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., Nov. 5, 2008) - EPA officials will attend the annual National Association of Farm Broadcasting Trade Talk event in Kansas City Thursday, Nov. 13. Attendees will be available for news interviews in Booth 70.

Interview topics include the rollout of the first-ever EPA biodiesel manual, updates on concentrated animal feeding operations, EPA's Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Committee, agriculture outreach, and air and water issues.

WHAT: National Association of Farm Broadcasting Convention

WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008, 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

WHO: Sally Shaver, Acting Counselor to the EPA Administrator for Agricultural Policy; John B. Askew, Region 7 Administrator; Gary Cooper, member of EPA's Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Committee; and Kris Lancaster, Public Affairs Specialist

WHERE: Booth 70, Westin Crown Center, 1 Pershing Road, Kansas City, Mo.
Sally Shaver was appointed Counselor to the Administrator for Agricultural Policy at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 2008. In this position, she advises the Administrator on agricultural issues and serves as a liaison with agricultural organizations and agencies. She has more than 35 years of experience in air and water quality programs and managed EPA's Ambient Air Standards and Air Toxics Program. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Furman University and a Masters of Science degree in environmental engineering from Clemson University.

John B. Askew was appointed EPA Region 7 Administrator in September 2006. He is a sixth- generation family farmer and lives on the family's Century Farm near Thurman, Iowa. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in agronomy from Iowa State University. John is married to Lauri Askew and has three sons: John P., a junior at Iowa State University; Nathan, a sophomore at Wartburg College; and Alex, a freshman in high school.

John was President of the Iowa Soybean Association, the largest state commodity group in the region. During his tenure, he helped develop and implement various programs that helped producers develop Environmental Management Systems and conduct on-farm research to better manage their daily operations. He served for four years as a farming industry appointee to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, which provides risk-management solutions to the farming community. John serves as a township trustee in Fremont County, Iowa, and is a member of various agricultural and environmental groups.

Gary Cooper is the livestock and poultry chair of EPA's new Farm, Ranch and Rural Communities Committee. He is one of the owners and operators of Cooper Farms in the Oakwood, Ohio, area. He is past president of the Ohio Poultry Association and also serves on the board of the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association and National Turkey Federation. He was the first recipient of EPA's Water Resources Stewardship Award presented by an official from EPA Region 5. Mr. Cooper attended Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio.

Kris Lancaster is an EPA spokesperson responsible for agriculture issues. He has 24 years of media relations experience and serves on the agriculture and biofuels team. His agriculture experience includes working on the family's row crop operation and his grandfather's livestock operation, licensed grain inspector at Kerr Grain & Seed, Inc., agricultural advisor to the Chairman of the Missouri House Agriculture Committee and two members of Congress, member of Missouri Agribusiness Association, farm real estate broker, federal crop insurance broker, negotiator of agricultural leases at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and served on the board of the Kansas Rural Development Council. He graduated from Central Missouri State University and completed an advanced sciences program at Park College with an emphasis in chemistry and physics.