The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance® (USFRA®) has elected three new board members, representing the American Farm Bureau Federation, Cattlemen’s Beef Board and Indiana Soybean Alliance.

Scott VanderWal, a third generation family farmer from Volga, SD, is vice president of AFBF and president of the South Dakota Farm Bureau. His family operation includes corn, soybeans, beef cattle feeding and custom harvesting.

Janna Stubbs is a cow-calf producer with her husband from Alpine, Texas who was appointed to the Beef Board in 2014. She has served many leadership roles in the beef industry as a member of the American National CattleWomen and Texas Cattlewomen.

We recently met Jeanette Merritt as part of our I AM USFRA series. She is a fourth-generation family farmer from Peru, Indiana who raises hogs, corn, soybeans and wheat with her husband. She currently serves as the chair of the Indiana Soybean Alliance Membership & Policy Committee and as director of checkoff programs for Indiana Pork.

“It’s critical for the agriculture industry to unite as one voice and inform today’s consumers about how farmers and ranchers care for the land and their animals,” says Nancy Kavazanjian, USFRA Chairwoman and Wisconsin farmer. “With our newest board members’ passion to set the record straight about the way we feed our nation, we look forward to having these exceptional individuals help share the story of farmers and ranchers’ commitment to sustainability, continuous improvement and responsible production practices.”

The three board members were elected at USFRA’s spring board meeting April 5 in Moline, Illinois. They join USFRA’s 17-member Board of Directors and more than 90 affiliates and industry partners that support the organization’s effort to earn consumer trust in U.S. food and agriculture.