Bush Picks Conner as Acting Head of USDA

WASHINGTON — Indiana native Chuck Conner has been named acting head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Conner will at least temporarily replace Mike Johanns, who is resigning as Agriculture secretary to run for an open Senate seat in Nebraska, President Bush said today.

Conner is the No. 2 official at the USDA. He also has served as Bush’s agriculture adviser.

"Chuck is a good man who shares our passion for agriculture," Johanns said.

Before Conner joined the White House, he was president of the Corn Refiners Association in Washington, D.C. Before that, he worked for Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar for 17 years, including a decade as the top GOP aide on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.

Conner, who has an agricultural economics degree from the Purdue University School of Agriculture, grew up on a farm in Benton County northwest of Indianapolis and helped pay for his agriculture economics degree by raising hogs.

Read the full Gannet News Service story here.