Resignation of FSA Administrator                                                           

					   Release No. 0017.97
                                                                               
                                                   Tom Amontree  (202) 720-4623
                                                   Jim Petterson (202) 720-4623
                                        
Statement
                                       by
                       Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman
       on Resignation of Farm Service Agency Administrator Grant Buntrock
                                January 22, 1997

     "This week, Grant Buntrock announced to Farm Service Agency staff that after more than
three years as FSA Administrator and executive vice president of the Commodity Credit
Corporation he was resigning, effective April 4.  I will miss his expertise and experience. 
Grant is a true friend of American agriculture who always has its best interest at heart."

     "As a former South Dakota farmer, Grant always has known the uncertainties and hardships
that go with trying to make a living on the land.  He also knows the personal satisfaction that
comes with it, and he especially appreciates the importance that production agriculture plays in
a sound, successful national economy.  No one is more aware than Grant Buntrock of the necessity
to maintain a strong, viable agriculture as a critical element in our national security.

     "He has ably served American agriculture in his role at the Farm Service Agency.  Grant
helped lead the FSA through some of its most profound changes.  Those changes, brought on by the
USDA's reorganization and the 1996 Farm Bill presented new challenges and tests.  Thanks, in no
small part, to Grant's leadership, the FSA is better positioned than ever to meet the needs of
America's farmers and ranchers.  On behalf of myself and USDA's customers, I offer Grant my
sincere appreciation for his service and commitment."  

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