USDA picks Dave White to head Conservation Service

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Dave White will become the permanent chief of the U.S. Agriculture Department's Natural Resources Conservation Service, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said on Tuesday.

White, who was named acting chief on January 21, is a career conservationist with the agency.

He worked as a conservationist between 2002 and 2008 in Missouri, South Carolina, NRCS headquarters and Montana. White also provided land stewardship expertise to the Senate Agriculture Committee in drafting the 2002 and 2008 farm laws.

"Dave White's extensive experience working with the NRCS and at the local, state and national levels is exactly what we need during this time of economic uncertainty and renewal," Vilsack said in a statement.

The NRCS has about 12,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $3 billion. The agency works to improve, protect, and conserve natural resources on private lands across the country.

(Reporting by Christopher Doering; editing by Lisa Shumaker)