Top Producer of the Year finalist Zach Ducheneaux has been selected by the Biden Administration to lead the Farm Service Agency (FSA).
Ducheneaux owns and runs DX Ranch in South Dakota along with his daughter Kelsey. They run a direct-to-consumer, grass-fed beef operation.
The elder Ducheneaux has also long been involved in Native American agriculture organizations and is currently Executive Director of the Intertribal Agriculture Council representing all federally recognized tripes and some 80,000 producers.
He will assume his new role as Administrator of FSA on Feb. 22. Ducheneaux will oversee more than 10,000 employees who are often the public face of USDA, working with farmers and landowners for USDA loan and payment programs.
The Ducheneaux family was selected by Top Producer in part because of their service to their community. As they expanded their DX Beef internet sales, they remained committed to keeping costs low for food-insecure families on the reservation.
“We are going to price this meat affordably to our community members because without them, and without the ability to affordably use tribal resources, we wouldn’t be able to do this,” said Ducheneaux.
Related:
South Dakota’s DX Ranch Focuses on Growth and Community
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