Trent Clark - Journalist Profile | Connect with top journalists

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Biography

Trent L. Clark is President and CEO of Customalting, LLC, a manufacturer of custom malting products for use in brewing, confections and baking. He also writes a weekly column for the Idaho State Journal and various other publications. For 27 years prior to starting the malt business he directed public and government affairs for companies such as Bayer, Pfizer, Upjohn-Pharmacia and Monsanto, with primary responsibility for the Intermountain West. In this position he represented the company in partnerships with local communities, and in dealings with local, state and federal governmental entities. He has served as Chair of the Idaho Rural Partnership, the Idaho Council on Industry and the Environment, the Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry and on the boards of the Idaho Building Authority, Voices for Children, and the Idaho Community Foundation. Most recently he chaired the Idaho Workforce Development Council and was Vice-Chair of the Idaho Humanities Council. In 1990 President Bush (41) appointed Trent as Director of Idaho’s Farm Service Agency, administering U.S. Department of Agriculture's farm income and conservation programs. That appointment followed nearly ten years working as Chief Environmental Economist for the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, and as personal staff to U.S. Senator Steve Symms (R-ID). In that position Trent was asked to draft and assist the Senator in enacting a number of laws, including the Foreign Agricultural Investment Reform Act (Public Law 99-472), the National Environmental Policy on International Financing Act (Public Law 101-240), the “Take Pride in America” Act (Public Law 101-628), and the National Recreational Trails Fund Act (Public Law 102-240). Trent is a summa cum laude graduate of Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho, where he also served as an instructor in plant genetics. He finished undergraduate studies at Brigham Young University with honors in political science and botany. He has since done graduate work at the Harvard School of Public Health and at La Selva Research Center in Costa Rica (accredited through the University of Pittsburgh). He currently resides year-round in Soda Springs, Idaho.

Content

Total articles 228

• Available on paid plans

  Opinion: Lexington and Concord at 250

  By Trent Clark

  Apr. 11, 2025

• Available on paid plans

  Opinion: Greenland, a third term, squirrels

  By Trent Clark

  Apr. 04, 2025

As seen in

Company Info

Idaho State Journal