January 22nd, 2025
By Lori Sallet
Former USDA Under Secretary Jenny Lester Moffitt Returns to American Farmland Trust as Senior Fellow
Lifetime agricultural leader will focus on enhancing the vitality of rural America
(Washington, D.C.) – Jenny Lester Moffitt joins American Farmland Trust as Senior Fellow where her work will focus on enhancing the vitality of rural America by supporting farmers and ranchers in building diverse, profitable, and resilient farming operations now and into the future. Her portfolio will include work at the intersection of farming, ranching, and the communities in which they play a critical part in future-proofing economies and preserving a rural way of life.
Moffitt joins AFT after serving as Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the first woman to hold this position. At USDA, Moffitt provided leadership to both the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), working to build a more reliable, resilient, and equitable food system by strengthening agricultural markets and ensuring the health and welfare of animals and plants. During her tenure, Moffitt oversaw some of the most significant investments in American agriculture, including the implementation of USDA’s Food Systems Transformation Initiative, Competition Initiative, and Organic Transition Initiative.
Prior to her appointment at USDA, Moffitt served as Deputy Secretary for Policy and then Undersecretary at the California Department of Food and Agriculture, leading strategic initiatives to implement and champion climate smart agriculture. A 5th generation California farmer, Moffitt grew up on her family’s organic walnut farm and processing operation, later serving as the farm’s Managing Director for 10 years. Moffitt graduated from Brown University and her first job after graduation was at American Farmland Trust.
“We are proud and fortunate to have Jenny return to AFT, bringing her many laudable experiences and accomplishments,” said John Piotti, AFT president and CEO. “We are so pleased to have someone of Jenny’s caliber on our team supporting the never more critical work of building resilience within America’s farms and ranches and the rural communities they are part of.”
“Growing up and working on my family’s farm, I learned first-hand the importance of taking care of the land and the people who farm it, as well as implementing sound farming practices,” said Moffitt. “I am thrilled to be returning to American Farmland Trust and look forward to supporting AFT’s mission to save the land that sustains us, by protecting farmland from development, promoting sound farming practices, and keeping farmers on the land. I am honored to pursue this critically important work in this new position.”
Moffitt will officially begin her role at AFT on February 3.
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American Farmland Trust is the only national organization that takes a holistic approach to agriculture, focusing on the land itself, the agricultural practices used on that land, and the farmers and ranchers who do the work. AFT launched the conservation agriculture movement and continues to raise public awareness through our No Farms, No Food® message. Since our founding in 1980, AFT has helped permanently protect over 8 million acres of agricultural lands, advanced environmentally-sound farming practices on millions of additional acres and supported thousands of farm families.