NEAFA was proud to present longtime agricultural industry leader Joel Newman with their Distinguished Service Award (DSA) during the 2020 NEAFA Annual Meeting, held February 4-5, 2020 in Albany, NY. The DSA is the highest accolade that the organization can give to recognize not only someone’s service to NEAFA, but to the entire agricultural industry throughout their career.
Newman served the agricultural industry for over 48 years. He received a bachelor’s in animal science from Wester Virginia University, and a MBA in finance and marketing from Syracuse University. Along with holding executive positions at Agway, Inc., Maple Leaf Foods, Inc. and United Cooperative Farmers, Newman led AFIA for 15 years and served as the president of AFIA’s 501(c)(3) public charity, the Institute for Feed Education and Research (IFEEDER), since it was introduced in 2009. IFEEDER supports critical education and research initiatives that assure consumers a safe, healthy and sustainable food supply. During his tenure at AFIA, Newman also built the organization up from less than ten employees, to having twenty three employees today, along with having strong engagement in the state, federal and international arenas, and providing educational opportunities and networking events.
“The Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance is proud to bestow our organization’s highest honor upon Joel Newman”, stated John Clark, NEAFA President. “Joel’s service to the feed industry, particularly the northeast feed industry, highlights the leadership and dedication he brought to the job throughout his career. Northeastern agriculture, and indeed agriculture across the world have benefited from the insights and hard work of Joel Newman.