Kansas Grain and Feed Association’s CEO Emeritus, Tom Tunnell, has been appointed to on the Federal Grain Inspection Service’s Grain Inspection Advisory Committee. His term began July 1.

TOM TUNNELL. Photo courtesy of KGFA.

“I am gratified to have been appointed to the Federal Grain Inspection Advisory Committee by USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue,” Tunnell says. “I look forward to this new opportunity to continue to serve the grain industry after my over 30-year career as a country elevator manager and as CEO of the Kansas Grain and Feed Association.”

The Advisory Committee was set up in 1981 under the authority of the U.S. Grain Standards Act. Its mission is to represent the interests of all segments of the U.S. grain industry.

The 15 members of the committee include members who are involved in grain processing, merchandising, handling, export, inspection and research. Producer and consumer interests are also part of the mission.

The U.S. secretary of agriculture is responsible for appointing all members of the advisory committee, and one-third of the members are appointed annually to serve a three-year term.

Members appointed for a three-year term are:

David L. Ayers of Champaign, Ill.; Chad Chambers of Corpus Christi, Texas; Matthew Kerrigan of Vancouver, Wash.; Ryan Kuhl of Grand Forks, N.D.; and Tunnell, who now lives in Bradenton, Fla.

Two members were selected as alternates to serve one-year terms. They are Michael Landry of Norco, La., and Todd Russom of Imperial, Mo.

Tunnell served as KGFA’s president and CEO for nearly 40 years from 1980 to 2017 and was responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operation of the association as well as monitoring state and federal legislation that pertain to the grain and feed industry. Prior to entering association management, Tunnell was general manager of an agribusiness in Lincoln, Kan., where he managed a large full-service country elevator, an alfalfa dehydrating operation, a small trucking business and a farming operation.

The appointment in Washington, D.C., is nothing new to Tunnell — he previously served on the boards of directors for The Fertilizer Institute and Agricultural Retailers Association.

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