Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced the appointment Thursday of Basil I. Gooden as Virginia’s next secretary of agriculture and forestry in Virginia.
He will succeed current secretary, Todd Haymore, who will become secretary of commerce and trade in September.
Gooden was appointed by President Obama as state director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development for Virginia in May 2014. Before that position, he served for 12 years as the chief deputy director of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.
