Steven Ferguson will begin work July 9 as executive director of the Iowa Agricultural Development Authority. His appointment was announced last week by Gov. Terry Branstad. Ferguson most recently served as the director of international programs at the Greater Des Moines Partnership. He has also worked at Bankers Trust Co. in Des Moines, F&M Bank in Newton, the American Soybean Association, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. The Iowa Agricultural Development Authority was created by the Iowa General Assembly in 1980 to provide financial assistance to Iowa’s grain and livestock producers.