Richard L. Feltner (b. 1938) was an academic expert in the field of agricultural economics when he became the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Consumer Services. After earning his doctorate, he pursued a career in education in the agricultural departments of Michigan State University and the University of Illinois. The position of Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Consumer Services stemmed from an educational and professional relationship Feltner began with Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz when both were at Purdue University - Feltner as a student and Butz as Dean of Agriculture. President Nixon appointed Butz as Secretary of Agriculture in 1971 and in 1974, when Clayton K. Yeutter shifted from Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Consumer Services to Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for International Affairs and Commodity, Butz turned to Feltner to fill the vacancy. In April 1974 President Nixon appointed, and the Senate confirmed, Feltner to the post. The Marketing and Consumer Services division of the United States Department of Agriculture is made up of four offices: Agricultural Marketing Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Food and Nutrition Service, and Packers and Stockyards Administration. Some of the programs and operations Mr. Feltner's office oversaw included the Food Stamp Program, the Food Distribution Program, meat, poultry, and egg products inspections, plant protection and quarantine programs, child nutrition programs, and marketing regulatory programs.
From the description of Feltner, Richard L. (Richard Lee), 1938- (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). naId: 10609750
