Blaine J. Viator, a crop consultant from Labadieville, La., has been selected to be president-elect of the National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants for 2011. The selection means Dr. Viator will become president of the organization in 2012.

The new president of the NAICC is Dennis Hatterman, director of research, regulatory and marketing for Landis International Inc., in Valdosta, Ga. Dr. Hatterman was installed as president at the NAICC annual meeting in Ft. Worth.

Viator has worked for Calvin Viator, Ph.D. and Associates, LLC in Labadieville for 22 years. He is past president of the Louisiana Ag Consultants Association and has been active in the Louisiana Farm Bureau, the Louisiana Plant Protection Association and other Louisiana farm organizations.

“My family has been in agricultural fields for five generations,” he said. “My father was the first of the family to leave the farm, go to college, but returned to the family farm and many other farms in Louisiana as an independent agricultural consultant. I followed his footsteps and have never worked a day when I didn’t love my career choice.”

Hatterman is a graduate of Illinois Central College, received his Ph. D. in plant pathology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and performed post-doctoral work at the University of Tennessee.

“NAICC has the unique position of being comprised of consultants, researchers, and quality assurance professionals that want the best products, services, and expertise for growers,” he said. “Our organization is successful because we join together as experts for the unified goal of making the U.S. food supply plentiful and safe.”

Other new officers installed during the annual meeting were Donna Landis, Hamburg, Penn., secretary, and Debra Keenan, Chico, Calif., treasurer. Orvin Bontrager, a consultant with Servi-Tech Inc., in Aurora, Neb., is the immediate past-president.

Directors named at the annual meeting include Gary Coukell, East Portage La Prairie, Canada; Renee J. Daniel, Sarasota, Fla.; Amy Beth Dowdy, Dexter, Mo.; Rick Kesler, Liberty, Mo.; and Ron O’Hanlon, Dodge City, Kan.