As some PAers may know, Dennis Wolff, the state Ag Secretary and big, big fan of using artificial growth hormones in milk, recently announced his resignation. Wolff has a reputation as a frighteningly good friend to industrial food producers and a lousy one to Gov. Ed Rendell. Since this was a man whose name had been in the running for the top food safety job at USDA (and at one point, for USDA chief), some in the progressive food policy world were concerned that Wolff's resignation was a precursor to a much-feared presser at USDA HQ in which USDA head Tom Vilsack would hand him the food safety reins.

Well, according to Farm and Dairy's twitter feed, Wolff is being true to his word that his departure:

"...comes down to having some other opportunities I am interested in exploring right now in the private sector."

According to Farm and Dairy, he's taking a job as a lobbyist with Versant Strategies, a PA-based ag lobbying firm. From its website, Versant appears to focus its lobbying efforts on Harrisburg, not Washington. If true, this would be a happy ending indeed. Dennis, we won't miss you one bit.

Labels: food, politics