U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns today announced members to serve on the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology and 21st Century Agriculture (AC21).

Members reappointed to one-year terms beginning on Feb. 23, 2006 are:

• Leon C. Corzine, Assumption, Illinois;
• Carole L. Cramer, Jonesboro, Arkansas;
• Michael D. Dykes, Washington, DC; and
• Jerome B. Slocum, Coldwater, Mississippi.

Members reappointed to two-year terms beginning on Feb. 23, 2006 were:

• Daryl D. Buss, Madison, Wisconsin;
• Carol T. Foreman, Chevy Chase, Maryland;
• Randal W. Giroux, Wayzata, Minnesota; and
• Margaret Mellon, Washington, DC.

One new member, Nicholas Kalaitzandonakes, Columbia, Missouri, was appointed for a two-year term beginning on Feb. 23, 2006, and another new member, Steven G. Pueppke, East Lansing, Michigan, was appointed to a one-year term beginning on Feb. 23, 2006.

Two new members were also appointed for two-year terms beginning on Aug. 3, 2006: Nancy S. Bryson, Washington, DC; and Sarah K. Geisert, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The AC21 was established in Feb., 2003 to provide information and advice to the Secretary of Agriculture on topics related to the use of biotechnology in agriculture. The committee is charged with examining the long-term impacts of biotechnology on the U.S. food and agriculture system and USDA, and providing guidance to USDA on pressing individual issues, identified by the Office of the Secretary, related to the application of biotechnology in agriculture.

More information on the AC21, including consensus reports developed by the committee, can be found here.