Jim serves as President and CEO of USApple, where he represents the U.S. apple industry before Congress, the Administration, the media, agricultural stakeholders, and the diplomatic community. Since joining USApple in 2014, Jim has been responsible for the overall management and execution of the association’s priorities, ensuring that USApple’s programs, policies, personnel, and finances align with the strategic direction established by the Board of Directors
Jim has dedicated more than 35 years to the management of food and agriculture organizations, including time in the Reagan Administration as a White House political appointee in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Jim is recognized by the media as an expert spokesman and advocate for agriculture. He has appeared on U.S. and international television, and has been quoted many times over the years, including by the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times and Financial Times of London.
Jim was raised on a northwest Iowa grain and livestock farm which has been in the family since 1909. He graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in agronomy – the science of plant genetics and physiology, soil and weather.