Risk Management Agency: USDA Announces New Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Board Members

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Risk Management Agency has issued the following news release:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced that four new members were selected for the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Board of Directors. Nicole Berg, Kenneth Selzer, Scott Silveus and Pat Swanson will serve four-year terms starting in November 2020.

"We appreciate the willingness of these four new board members to serve on behalf of American farmers and ranchers," RMA Administrator Martin Barbre said. "We look forward to working with them in managing the Federal crop insurance program."

The FCIC board oversees the Federal crop insurance program, managed by RMA. The Federal Crop Insurance Act requires that non-USDA FCIC board members represent core groups involved in managing farm risk. This includes four producers, at least one of whom is a specialty crop producer; one individual involved in insurance (often an agent); and one individual knowledgeable about reinsurance or regulation. The Act also requires that the four producer board members come from diverse geographic areas and represent a cross-section of agricultural commodities.

Nicole Berg is a specialty crop producer from Washington state and partner and Chief Financial Officer of Lenzie Ranch, Inc./Berg Farms, LLC/The Berg Partnership. Berg holds and has held numerous leadership positions. She currently serves as Vice President of the National Association of Wheat Growers and as a Board Member of the Community First Bank.

Ken Selzer is an insurance executive and former Kansas Insurance Commissioner who currently serves as an Executive Managing Director at a worldwide reinsurance broker. Selzer has held many leadership positions in the both the public and private sectors and in the community. He has earned several professional credentials, including CPA, CPCU, ARe and FLMI and holds several insurance licenses. Ken and his wife Deb own and operate a farm in the Kansas City area.

Scott Silveus has been a crop insurance agent with Silveus Insurance Group, Inc. for 30 years in Indiana. During that time, Silveus has worked with producers from around the country, including apple growers in Michigan, rice growers in Arkansas, wheat growers in Kansas and cotton growers in Texas. Silveus has collaborated with RMA for years and has been instrumental in the development of many Federal and private crop insurance products, including PRF, Margin Protection, ARP and Price Flex. Scott is currently a Board Member at Lakeland Christian Academy and is on the Board of Trustees at Grace College.

Pat Swanson farms with her husband Don and his family in Iowa as a partner of Swanson Farm Partnership, a soybean, corn and cow-calf farming operation. Swanson has worked as a crop insurance agent since 2005 and co-owns Son Risk Management crop insurance agency. Swanson also serves as a State Committee Member on the Iowa Farm Service Agency, District 9 Director for the Iowa Soybean Association, American Soybean Association Advocacy Communications Team Member and Wapello County 4-H Foundation Board Secretary.