Mike Yost is the associate administrator for programs in the Farm Service Agency.

Before joining USDA, from 1979 until his appointment to this position Yost served as president of Yost Farm, Inc., a fifth-generation corn, soybean, wheat, and alfalfa farm in Murdock, Minn. He worked as a grain merchant for the Pillsbury Company in Minneapolis, and was a member of the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, from 1973-79.

Yost served as chair of the American Oilseed Coalition from 1998-2000 as well as vice president, president, and then chair of the American Soybean Association from 1995-2000. He also served as a member of the USDA/Department of Energy Biomass Advisory Board from 2002-2004, as well as a member of USDA’s Biotech Advisory Board from 2000-2001.

Teresa Lasseter, the previous associate administrator for programs in FSA, is now working in her family’s agribusiness operation in Moultrie, Ga. •