Washington, D.C., USA - October 1, 2010, Washington, D.C., USA - The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac) announced that Sara L. Faivre-Davis and Myles Watts became members of the board of directors, and Lowell L. Junkins became chairman of the board.
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Mr. Junkins has been a member of Farmer Mac's Board of Directors since June 1996, Vice Chairman of the Board since December 2002, and Acting Chairman of the Board from September 2008 until he became Chairman of the Board on September 30, 2010.
Mr. Junkins serves as chairman of the Corporate Governance Committee and is a member of the Compensation and Public Policy Committees of Farmer Mac's Board of Directors. Mr. Junkins works as a public affairs consultant for Lowell Junkins & Associates in Des Moines, Iowa and also owns and operates Hillcrest Farms in Montrose, Iowa, where he served as Mayor from 1971 to 1972.
From 1974 through 1986, Mr. Junkins served as an Iowa State Senator, including as majority leader from 1981 to 1986.
Ms. Faivre-Davis is the co-owner and managing partner of Wild Type Ranch in Milam County Texas, which she has operated with her husband, Ralph Mitchell, since 2005. Prior to this endeavor, Dr. Faivre-Davis was involved with several livestock genomics companies and has also held research positions as a staff scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Ms. Faivre-Davis's academic career includes faculty appointments at the University of Illinois and Texas A&M University. She graduated with honors from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Business and Animal Science and earned her Ph.D. in Genetics from Texas A&M.
Dr. Davis will serve on the Audit, Marketing, and Public Policy Committees of Farmer Mac's Board of Directors.
Mr. Watts is a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Montana State University, where he has been a member of the faculty since 1978 and previously served as Department Head for 17 years.
Dr. Watts has also served in various editorial capacities for the Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics and has advised many governments and private organizations, including large international reinsurance companies, on an array of financial issues, mostly focusing on agricultural insurance. ■