Daryn McBeth

PRESIDENT

The Agri-Growth Council Board of Directors hired Daryn as president in the fall of 2003.

Prior to working for the Agri-Growth Council, McBeth was the principal and founder of McBeth & Associates, a Minneapolis-based government relations and consulting company he formed after spending six years in Washington, D.C., working with legislation, administrative regulations, politics and federal policy. McBeth & Associates primarily focused on Minnesota agriculture, conservation, and rural development issues, and specialized in government relations.

Prior to moving to Minneapolis Daryn McBeth worked as assistant vice president at Gordley Associates Inc., a small government relations company named by National Journal publications as one of the top agriculture lobbying firms in Washington, D.C. During his four years at Gordley Associates, McBeth provided government relations and lobbying services for a variety of agriculture-related organizations and companies. The firm’s clients included the American Soybean Association, National Barley Growers Association, United Soybean Board, National Sunflower Association, U.S. Durum Growers Association, U.S. Canola Association, National Biodiesel Board, Iowa Pork Producers Association, Nebraska Wheat Board, CyberCrop.com, Wild Bird Feeding Institute, and the USA Dry Pea and Lentil Council. McBeth played a critical role on Capitol Hill, securing several legislative provisions for clients during completion of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Farm Bill).

Before joining Gordley Associates, McBeth served as legislative counsel for U.S. Congressman Pomeroy (D-N.D.), a key member of the Agriculture Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. His responsibilities included tracking and drafting legislation, writing speeches and background briefs, and advising the Congressman on national and state agricultural and environmental issues. In addition to working on natural disaster assistance and flood recovery efforts after the catastrophic 1997 Red River flood, he served as an advisor during the House Agriculture Committee’s reauthorization of the farm bill’s agriculture research title, federal crop insurance program, and Commodities Exchange Act.

McBeth began his career in Washington as special counsel to the Director of the Wetlands and Watersheds Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), where he helped implement rulemaking after the 1996 Farm Bill. He reviewed property and title issues for Wetlands Reserve Program conservation easements, and worked with I.R.S. and Department of Treasury counsel on income tax determinations related to federal conservation programs. He also served as a law clerk for both the NRCS and Office of the General Counsel during the reauthorization of the 1995-96 Farm Bill.

McBeth’s writing credits include an article published in the Harvard Environmental Law Review entitled “Wetlands Conservation and Federal Regulation: Analysis of the Food Security Act’s ‘Swampbuster’ Provisions as Amended by the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996.” He has also written for the National Wetlands Newsletter, Agricultural Law Update and the Drake Journal of Agriculture Law.

Originally from Burlington, Iowa, McBeth attended Cornell College (B.A. Environmental Studies and Political Science) and Drake University Law School (J.D. with honors). After law school McBeth passed the Wisconsin bar exam though has never practiced law. While attending law school, he worked in Des Moines, Iowa, at the Drake Agricultural Law Center, the Soil & Water Conservation Society and clerked at the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation. McBeth was a leader in establishing the Drake Journal of Agricultural Law (publishing an article titled “Public Need and Private Greed – Environmental Protection and Property Rights”), and received the Drake Law School Academic Achievement award for excelling in Agricultural Law.

McBeth is a proud lifetime member of Pheasants Forever, is an original member of the Advisory Board for Drake Law School’s Center for Legislative Practice, and has been a member of the American Agricultural Law Association since 1993. McBeth resides in Plymouth with his wife Amy and their sons Gavin and Wyatt, and their daughter Mallory.