Steve Brown Named FSA State Executive Director, Steve Howell Named USDA State Director of Indiana Rural Development

Two Indiana ag leaders have been named as the new heads of USDA’s statewide agencies.

Steve Brown has been appointed State Executive Director for the Farm Service Agency in Indiana. In addition, Steve Howell has been appointed as State Director of Indiana Rural Development.

Brown had previously served as the Indiana State Executive Director for FSA in the first Trump Administration from 2017 to 2021. He has been actively involved in his family farming operation for over 40 years. Steve is a former USDA employee with 32 years of experience working in Porter and Carroll counties as well as the Indiana State FSA Office. He was inducted into the Carroll County Agricultural Hall of Fame in 2023.

Howell has served as Senior Director of Industry Affairs at Indiana Soybean Alliance and has been with the Indiana corn and soybean checkoff organizations since 2016. He previously served as Director of Community Affairs for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and as Deputy District Director for Congressman Mark Souder. He is also engaged in his family farm in Jay County, Indiana.

“Congratulations to Steve Howell on his appointment as Indiana Rural Development State Director and Steve Brown on his appointment as Indiana Farm Service Agency State Executive Director. Both are outstanding choices who will serve our state well,” said Senator Todd Young (R-IN).

“President Trump is putting Farmers First, and so is the incredible team we are building at the Department of Agriculture. Our latest additions to the USDA family are personally invested in ensuring farmers and rural America prosper. I look forward to seeing the work they will do supporting farmers, ranchers, and producers across the country by implementing President Trump’s America First policies,” said U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.