Idaho has a new USDA Farm Service Agency statewide committee.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack appointed the four-person committee, the Farm Service Agency announced June 2. A change in U.S. presidential administration prompts eventual creation of a new committee.

The new state committee consists of Roy Bunderson of Bloomington, chairman; Brett Stevenson of Bellevue; Marie Linehan of Genesee and W. Allen Schmid of Fruitland.

Matt Gellings, Farm Service Agency Idaho executive director, said he is “excited to get this committee in place. They play such an integral role in FSA’s mission of serving farmers and ranchers in America.”

He plans to hold the first meeting in mid-July at the agency’s state office in Boise. A date is yet to be set.

Gellings said he expects the agency to benefit from the state committee’s agricultural and geographic diversity. Two members have experience on Farm Service Agency county committees.

Bunderson runs cattle in Bloomington, near the state’s southeast corner. He has served on Bear Lake County’s committee the past seven years.

Linehan grows pulse and cereal crops in the north central region. She served on the Latah County committee the last nine years.

Stevenson is founder and miller at Hillside Grain in the central mountain region. Gellings said the Idaho Barley Commission recommended her.

Schmid runs a cattle feeding operation and grows crops including corn and mint.

State committees have three to five members. They oversee farm programs and county committee operations, resolve appeals and cooperate with industry stakeholders. They inform agricultural producers about program developments.