BIO: Steven Berk, USDA
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE USDA District Director, USDA Farm Service Agency, Florida, 13 years . Area of responsibility is the 18 counties in South Florida. County Executive Director, Licking County , Ohio, 15 years. The county was a large diversified the included corn, soybeans, dairy, beef cattle, layer chicken, pasture and the Conservation Reserve Program.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE, AFGHANISTAN USDA Senior Agricultural Representative, U.S. Consulate Mazar-e-Sharif, RC- North USDA Senior Agricultural Advisor, TF Bulldog, Logar/Wardak/Bamyan Provinces Agriculture Advisor, PRT Sharana, Paktika Province
EDUCATION The Ohio State University, Bachelor of Science Degree – Agriculture 1980 During college, my major course work was ruminant nutrition and bovine reproductive physiology. I was a teaching assistant for a lab where students were trained to both perform and teach techniques to artificially inseminate cattle as well as to perform palpation of cows to determine the stage of pregnancy and detect reproductive tract health concerns. I possess the ability to balance ruminant feed rations and utilize feed stuffs for both dairy and beef cattle for the maximum nutritional efficiency with the understanding that different feed stuffs have different levels of nutrients. I also have a complete understanding of the need for forage analysis in order fully utilize available feed
PRACTICAL AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE I was raised on a diversified farming operation in Western Ohio and have been involved in livestock and crop production since my youth. The operation consisted of a per breed Angus broad cow herd along with purchased feeder cattle, which were raised and finished to market using grain grown on the farm. In addition there was a farrow to finish swine operation. The operation also included a small flock of meat-type sheep that were produced for 4-H projects. A farm flock of chickens, both layers and broilers, where raised for family consumption. The cropping aspect of the operation consisted of corn, soybeans, small grains and hay. .