Dr. C. Reuben Walker, animal science professor, was officially appointed to USDA 15-member National Organic Standards Board on January, 24 by USDA Secretary of Agriculture, the Honorable Tom Vilsack. The appointment is for five years. The Board's main mission is to make recommendations on whether a substance should be allowed or prohibited in organic production or handling, to assist in the development of standards for substances to be used in organic production, and to advise the Secretary of Agriculture on other aspects of the implementation of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990.

During his tenure on the board, Dr. Walker will serve on the (1) Compliance, Accreditation & Certification, (2) Livestock, (3) Policy and Development, and (4) Aquaculture Committees. The current board is comprised of four farmers/growers, two handlers/processors, one retailer, one scientist, three consumer/public interest advocates, three environmentalists, and one USDA accredited certifying agent who sit on various committees. Members come from all four U.S. regions.

Dr. Walker is a Professor and Program Leader of Animal Science in the College of Agriculture, Family and Consumer Sciences in the Southern University-Baton Rouge (SUBR) Campus. He holds a joint appointment at Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center (SUAREC). Dr. C. Reuben Walker holds the first patent on crawfish waste process in SUAREC and SUBR.

He is leading the effort at SUAREC and SUBR in developing a focus on organic production since the retirement of Dr. Owusu Bandele (NOSB 2000-05). He views organic as an excellent means of promoting agriculture to a broad array of new and traditional rural, urban, and suburban stakeholders for promoting healthy living and being good stewards of the earth resources. Currently, his research focus is on organic pork, sugar cane, field corn, soybean, and okra. Students have benefited from his efforts in organic farming. His connection to organic has been due to Frank Stronach and Dennis Mills of Magna Corporation, Toronto, Canada; Harry Schexnayder (Organic Certification Manager) at the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry; and Earnest Freeman, Retired LSU County Agent.

Dr. Walker has several years of experience in advocating organic production and helping numerous Louisiana limited resource and small farmers secure organic inputs and locate organic vendors. He holds an M.S. and Ph.D. in Animal Breeding from Oregon State University, Corvallis Oregon. Also, he holds a Bachelor's Degree in Animal Science from the Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, Louisiana. He is a charter member of the Louisiana Gamma Chapter of Alpha Zeta National Honor Fraternity. He credits both the land grant entities of SUBR (College of Agricultural, Family and Consumer Sciences), SUAREC, and Southern University System for allowing him to serve and be a servant to our students and stakeholders.

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