LON S. HATAMIYA NAMED ADMINISTRATOR OF USDA'S FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICE

                                                               
                                             Release No.0361.97
                                                               
                                                               
                                    Tom Amontree (202) 720-4623
                                          tom.amontree@usda.gov
                                   Lynn K. Goldsbrough (202) 720-3930
                                       goldsbrough@fas.usda.gov
                                                               

LON S. HATAMIYA NAMED ADMINISTRATOR OF USDA'S FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICE

     WASHINGTON, October 16, 1997--Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today
named Lon S. Hatamiya as Administrator of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).

     Hatamiya has served as Administrator of USDA's Agricultural Marketing
Service since September 1993.

     "Lon Hatamiya's distinguished service as the head of AMS, extensive
experience in the private sector, and family farm background in California
make him an excellent choice to lead FAS," said Glickman.  "Agriculture's
future is tied to trade.  Lon knows the importance of helping American
farmers find new export markets.  We will rely on his outstanding management
and leadership skills as we meet the challenges and opportunities that lie
ahead," said Glickman.  

     As Administrator of FAS, Hatamiya will oversee the administration of
programs to foster exports of American agricultural, fish, and forest
products.  The agency reports on international agricultural production and
trade, handles USDA's responsibilities in international trade agreements and
negotiations, administers various export assistance programs, coordinates
USDA's role in international food aid programs, and provides linkages to
worldwide resources and technologies that can benefit U.S. agriculture.

     During his leadership at AMS, Hatamiya was responsible for more than
50 Federal programs for marketing and distribution of agricultural products,
assuring consumers of an abundant, high-quality food supply.

     Before joining USDA, Hatamiya was involved in the management of his
family's horticultural farming business, H.B. Orchards Company, Inc. in
Marysville, Calif.  He was also founder and president of BHP Associates,
Inc., an economic development, education, and agribusiness consulting firm
in Sacramento.  Before that, he worked in the private sector in a variety of
marketing and legal positions, and was an attorney with the law firm of
Orrick, Herrington, and Sutcliffe.

     Hatamiya was raised on his family's farm in Marysville, Calif.  He
graduated with honors from Harvard University with a B.A. degree in
Economics.  He received his M.B.A. in Entrepreneurial Studies and
International Business from the Anderson Graduate School of Management at
the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and his J.D. from the
UCLA School of Law.
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