KANSAS CITY, KS (08/18/06) -- EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson has announced the appointment of  John B. Askew, president of the Iowa Soybean Association, as the new EPA Region 7 Administrator.

"He has developed and implemented agronomic and environmental programs that help farmers evaluate alternative management practices, incorporate environmental management programs, and use watershed programming so they can become better growers, better managers, and better environmental stewards," says Administrator Johnson.

Askew is a row crop producer of corn, soybeans and alfalfa. Also, he is a specialty crop producer of contract popcorn and marketer of white and food grade yellow corn to tortilla processors and exporters.

Askew is a producer representative to USDA’s Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, and a member of the Iowa Corn Grower’s Association, the Iowa Farm Bureau, the American Soybean Association, and the American Farm Bureau Federation. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy from Iowa State University.