Having led agriculture, environment, infrastructure, homeland security and economic policy for nearly three decades, Rebeckah Freeman Adcock has extensive regulatory, legislative and business experience in private, nonprofit and government sectors, where she has long advocated for the interests of American agriculture and rural businesses. As vice president of U.S. government relations for the International Fresh Produce Association, Adcock is now channeling her vast knowledge and expertise into protecting the needs of the fresh produce industry.
The Packer: You have an extensive and very interesting background. What was your path to the fresh produce industry?
Adcock: My path has not been straightforward at all. I grew up in the mountains of Kentucky. My family was involved in farming, but not myself. I’m so old that they really didn’t have environmental studies and science degrees in very many places, but I ended up cobbling one together for my undergrad and went to law school. I have done everything in my lifetime from being an environmental scientist cleaning up Superfund landfills to being a veterinary technician to working in the hazardous waste industry to working now in Washington.
Working at the state level through the Farm Bureau system is how I got involved in agriculture decades ago, and it was a very special gift. I had the honor of serving the government directly, working at USDA during the first Trump administration, and doing much good work there for rural America. About three years ago, I had the privilege of coming to IFPA to work for what I think is the most interesting, dynamic and responsive part of American agriculture.
You have a unique perspective having worked at USDA during the first Trump administration. With the new administration and the ever-changing landscape around tariffs and trade, what has your experience taught you about navigating all this change?
I have always worked in atmospheres that have been a bit unpredictable. In Washington, whether you’re on the Hill, in the association world, the corporate world or within an administration, there is a great deal of rapid change. It doesn’t feel like that outside of Washington. It feels like the federal government moves at a snail’s pace, but it really moves in fits of amazingly fast activity and then periods where it slows down. And so, you get accustomed to a bit of that feast-or-famine cycle of being busier than you can imagine, to waiting and watching and doing the in-between work.
At USDA, working for the first Trump administration, which is a very non-traditional, unorthodox political environment, it was the fastest pace, the hardest work and probably some of the most meaningful work.
My colleagues and I didn’t realize how the inner workings of running a government — managing so many pieces of the puzzle at the same time and at the tip of the spear — how that really feels. And it is overwhelming, but it is also a great honor, regardless of who is sitting in the seat at the White House.
I’m a big advocate for public service, and I think it definitely did give me a bit of an edge, perhaps, in understanding and interpreting what the administration is doing in its second term and realizing where some of the challenges are going to be and how we’re going to have to adapt and adjust to get our priorities for the sector through.
We have the tools and the information to show the administration why we think tariffs are going to be especially impactful to our industry and why it’s especially important to protect the fresh produce supply chain because of what it means for consumers, what it means for public health, and certainly, what it means for IFPA members and the people who are growing and selling and moving those materials around the world.
You’ve said that working in the fresh produce industry has been particularly rewarding. What is it about your work that’s meaningful to you?
When I came to Washington, I was in the crop protection sector, and that’s when you realize the true market survivability of the specialty crop industry — of the produce folks. There are much fewer government programs to support their work, which we’re trying to work on in the next farm bill.
I also like the spirit of specialty crop growers. They’re very open to adapting to what consumers really want. They’re constantly learning. They’re constantly evolving. They’re much more open to trying new things — to taking calculated risks to try and gain an advantage either on what they’re selling or what they’re buying, and I think it’s incredibly important the role they play in human health, in providing people with what we know are some of the very healthiest products out there.
It’s hard to take chances when the weather is fighting you, the markets are fighting you, land prices are up, there’s inflation and everything seems to be blowing hot wind in your face. It’s hard to step further and faster in those times to see what the opportunity might be ahead of you, but it’s something I think the specialty crop sector does.
Some of the most dynamic and successful growers in the specialty crop industry are the ones that moved forward into the wind when everybody else was retreating. And I don’t take lightly that advice, but especially as the world is changing and we’re seeing a different approach to the globalized economy and shifts — some things happening around us that are very real and over which we won’t always have full control — this could be a jumping off point for American agriculture to step forward into the wind.
What advice do you have for other women, perhaps young women, who are contemplating a career in produce or in government?
I always go back to the advice that my grandmother gave me, which is especially important if you’re going to be in any sort of advocacy or policy role: You’re the only person that ever has to lay your head down and sleep with yourself at night.
My grandmother used to remind me that as long as you’re doing that and being true to yourself and putting your back into it, but also keeping your priorities straight, there’s a lot of lessons we can learn.
I think agriculture, particularly producers, are really good at setting those priorities of doing the work as long as it takes, but also coming back home and taking care of what you need to in your own personal life. And sometimes that’s not a perfect route, and you won’t get it right every single day, but tomorrow is a new day and you have a chance to reset and try again.
Read more about The Packer’s 2025 Women in Produce:
- Erika Allen — founder and CEO, Urban Growers Collective
- Lori Bigras — communications manager, Ocean Mist Farms
- Kelly Hale — vice president of sales and marketing, Highline Mushrooms
- Angela Hernandez — Vice president of marketing, Trinity Fruit Co.
- Kristyn Lawson — president and CEO, Preferred Sales and Marketing
- Tina Lee — CEO, T&T Supermarket
- Robin Narron — marketing director and sales support, Nash Produce
