Washington, D.C. Jan. 13, 2021. The American Soybean Association is pleased to announce a fifth addition to its in-house Washington, D.C., policy team. Ariel Wiegard will join ASA Jan. 19 as a director leading the portfolio for conservation, precision agriculture, nutrition, and other issues of importance to soy.

Wiegard brings with her a bevy of conservation and agriculture experience, having most recently served as Federal Government Relations lead for Syngenta, where she has worked since 2018. Before, she was director for the Center for Agriculture & Private Lands with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. Wiegard has worked on climate policy, endangered species regulation and other key conservation and agriculture technology issues including water quality, precision planting, rural broadband and 5G.

Christy Seyfert, Executive Director of Government Affairs, said Wiegard immediately stood out amongst a strong group of candidates, “We were impressed with her enthusiasm and the depth of experience she will be able to employ here at ASA. Ariel is accustomed to successfully telling the story of agriculture – across a broad number of topics vital to soy growers – and will be a great team addition.”

Wiegard attended the University of Virginia for college and Vermont Law School’s master’s program for environmental law and policy focusing on agriculture and food systems. She joins Seyfert (farm policy), Kyle Kunkler (biotechnology and crop protection), Alexa Combelic (biodiesel, transportation and infrastructure, sustainability), and Virginia Houston (trade, food aid, livestock) to round out the policy team based in D.C.