WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2007 – Joseph J. Prusacki has been named director of the Statistics Division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), NASS Administrator Ron Bosecker announced today. Prusacki succeeds Steve Wiyatt, who retires Jan. 3 after 34 years of service to NASS.

As Statistics Division director, Prusacki will be responsible for the forecasts and estimates published in nearly 500 national statistical reports each year covering all facets of U.S. agriculture. He also replaces Wiyatt as executive director of the Agricultural Statistics Board.

Prusacki most recently served as director of the NASS Iowa Field Office. He began his career with the agency in 1984 and worked in both the Tennessee and Indiana Field Offices before moving to the NASS Washington headquarters in 1992. He worked in a variety of statistician positions in Washington before being promoted into management ranks in 1997. Since then, his positions have included serving as head of the Environmental and Economics Section in the Statistical Methods Branch, as well as program manager for the 2002 Census of Agriculture. In 2004, he was named chief of the Crops Branch within the Statistics Division.

“Steve Wiyatt provided tremendous leadership to NASS throughout his career and his shoes will be tough to fill,” Bosecker said. “But I am delighted that Joe Prusacki is stepping up to the challenge as Statistics Division director. His prior experience will serve him well in his new position.”

Prusacki was raised on a small crop and hog farm in Perry County, Ill. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Agribusiness-Economics from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, as well as an M.S. in Applied Statistics from Purdue University. He is a 2004 graduate of USDA’s Senior Executive Service Candidate Development Program.