Ben Conner, Partner
Ben Conner is a partner at DTB AgriTrade. He joined the firm in 2019, after spending a decade at an agricultural trade association and as a staffer in the U.S. Senate. Ben helps clients pursue their agricultural trade policy goals through assistance with international trade negotiations, monitoring and analyzing compliance with trade commitments, enforcing trade rules, and engaging with governments and international organizations on policy issues related to agricultural trade.
Prior to joining DTB, Ben was the Vice President of Policy at U.S. Wheat Associates (USW), where he worked with farmers, USW’s foreign offices, USDA, USTR, and related industry to improve market access by addressing tariffs, trade-restrictive sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and other non-tariff barriers to U.S. wheat exports.
Ben joined USW after serving as the agriculture and trade legislative assistant for U.S. Senator Mike Johanns of Nebraska. During his time in that position, Ben championed the Senator’s priorities for the 2014 farm bill, such as creating the position of Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. He also assisted with the Senator’s push for ratification of free trade agreements, and coordinated support for the inclusion of Japan in the Trans-Pacific Partnership pending resolution of the BSE-related restrictions on beef from cattle under thirty months.
In 2014, Ben completed a joint MS-MBA in food and agribusiness management from Purdue University and Indiana University. He also has a master’s degree in international commerce and policy from George Mason University and was an undergraduate at Miami University in Ohio.