BATON ROUGE — Louisiana Rep. Andy Anders, D-Clayton, currently chair of the Louisiana House Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture and Rural Development Committee, was elected chair of the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee of The Council of State Governments’ Southern Office, the Southern Legislative Conference.

Anders had previously served the SLC committee as vice chair and interim chair.

As part of its mission to foster cooperation and share information and best practices among its 15 member states, the SLC met in Mobile, Ala., for its 67th annual meeting.

The meeting brought together more than 1,000 delegates, legislative staff, and guests from across the South.

The Agriculture and Rural Development Committee is the oldest of the six SLC standing committees.

In the months ahead, Anders leadership of the committee will include setting research priorities for agriculture and rural development for the non-profit research organization for the year and crafting an agenda for the organization’s 68th annual meeting, to be in Little Rock, Ark.